Camp Dragons
by animalsarepeopletoo
Summary: Modern AU. When Hiccup is sent to summer camp, he can't expect life to get much worse. However, tables turn when Hiccup shoots down a mysterious black creature in the woods, starting an unlikely friendship. Meanwhile, a beast nicknamed the "Red Death" lurks nearby, threatening the camp's very survival... {Hiccstrid, Hicctooth bonding} ABANDONED.
1. Welcome to Camp

**Hey, everyone! I'll just cut to the important stuff…**

 **This story will follow the BASIC plotline of HTTYD 1. Some parts may be word for word with the movie. Some will be completely my own ideas, as this is in OUR modern universe, and, of course, stuff needs to be changed to make sense. However, these first two chapters are mostly explaining about the camp Hiccup is going to and other mandatory stuff. At the end of chapter two, though, the action will get started, so don't worry. :-)**

 **I am going to call Hiccup 'Hiccup' throughout the entire story, even though his REAL name is Hadley. Because really no sane person in our world would name their child 'Hiccup'. But, just so you aren't confused, I'll call him by his Viking name.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Welcome to Camp**

* * *

The whole thing began out of an abrupt comment over a dinner of yak stew.

It was Hiccup's last day of eighth grade at Berk Middle School, and his father had came home early to celebrate the end of school and start of summer. But the 'celebration' really just consisted a few quiet clangs as spoons thunked against their bowls, and the occasional slurp of stew.

Finally, Hiccup's father, Stoick, had said something.

"Hadley, I have a job opportunity this summer. The job has an even better pay than the one I have now. So for the next few months, I'll be out of the house. A lot."

Hiccup's hand froze holding his spoon to his lips. "But, Dad... we don't need anymore money. Look at our house... our things..." He gestured to the fine china that lined some shelves, extravagant family tapestries, and the enormous size of the Haddock residence. It was, it seemed, far too big for a family so small.

It appeared that Stoick hadn't heard him. Or maybe he had just ignored his son."You're going to high school in the fall, son. That's when you start to become a man. You can handle yourself at home alone for a few days."

He was right. Hiccup was past being used to it, as his father was the CEO of Haddock Institutes, which took a lot of time to execute. However, the thought of yet another drawlingly long summer locked away at home was not appealing to Hiccup. Not at all. So that's what caused him to blurt out, "What about camp?"

Stoick swallowed another spoonful of stew. "What about it?"

Hiccup shifted in his chair. "Well... what if you sent me there this summer? I make the age group this time."

Hiccup had been referring to a popular camp called Camp Dragons. Hiccup had finally turned fourteen in February, making the minimum age limit. Since Stoick would already be out, and he certainly had enough money to enroll Hiccup in camp, there really was no reason not to consent.

"I don't know, Hadley...," said Stoick doubtfully. But Hiccup had pressed on and on about the matter for the next few days until Stoick had finally complied. He would go to camp starting June 1st.

And that was how Hiccup found himself staring at a sign, far away from any civilization, on a hot, sweaty day.

 _This is it_ , thought Hiccup as he observed the wooden piece. He tried to keep up his usual cover of bright exhilaration, though it was drooping in his anxiousness. _You're finally here._

He swallowed.

 _Don't mess it up._

Today was the day that Hiccup Haddock finally got to go to Camp Dragons. The day he had been yearning for ever since school had ended earlier in May. He would be here for two and a half months. Two and a half months to prove his worth, and hopefully go back home with maybe a friend or two more. He wasn't asking much. Just that he would be eyed as a little more popular than he was now. Hiccup the Useless, the kids sometimes called him. Not a great nickname, he knew, and he was set on getting a better one. Such as Hiccup the Use _ful_. Hiccup the Awesome, Hiccup the Cool, just to name a few. He had to do well at camp this summer, or high school would turn out just like middle school.

It wasn't that he so much regretted his request to come to camp, but he did admit that he was a bit nervous of how things would turn out. And nervousness wasn't a nice feeling. No, not at all.

A hand clamped down on his shoulder. "You ready, son?"

Hiccup looked up at his father. "Me? Yeah- of course, Dad. Why wouldn't I be?"

Stoick seemed not to hear him as he too stared at the sign. _Camp Dragons_ , it read in messy splotches of red and black. "We'd better get going in, then, before we're later than we already are."

Hiccup had accidentally forgotten his notebook at home, only to discover that fact twenty minutes later in the car. Hiccup had claimed that he absolutely needed to have it at camp, causing them to have to double back and retrieve it. They had arrived at camp a half hour later than they were supposed to.

Stoick steered Hiccup on through the arch that led into the camp. The parking lot was outside of the boundaries, as Camp Dragons didn't need anymore campers accidentally run-over (yes, it had unfortunately happened once before).

Hiccup was met by a bustling racket of noise one could expect at a camp. Kids tore by, laughing and chasing after each other. Camp counselors tried to get the campers under control, imminently failing. Even though Hiccup was inside the camp, he could see that they were surrounded by a vast wood of rich green trees. There were also some cliffs lining the top of the forest. This caused his mind to wonder if the camp made the kids go in the woods for the activities. Hiccup wasn't bothered with being outside- in fact, he loved it- but too much physical exertion tended to exhaust Hiccup, and he didn't want to look weak in front of the others.

"Hadley... _Hadley_."

Hiccup whipped around to where Stoick was staring down at him, looking faintly annoyed. Hiccup had the impression that his father had been calling his name more than just a few times.

"Yeah, Dad?" said Hiccup, pulling himself back to reality.

Stoick pointed a meaty finger to a giant wooden building. "You need to get going to the Great Hall. There will be a list with your name on it, and also what cabin you're in. I bet your cabin mates are already there, so hurry on now, lad. I'll see you at the introduction ceremony later."

Hiccup nodded. "Alright. Well, I'd better get going, then. I'll see you la-"

But Stoick had already walked off to talk to a couple of counselors, leaving Hiccup alone.

He sighed, and shifted his backpack. His other luggage had been sent to camp ahead of time, but Hiccup had some personal items that he wanted to bring himself. He glanced down at his attire. He hoped he was dressed properly for camp. Was a green T-shirt, a brown jacket, and jeans alright?

 _Of course it's alright, Hadley_ , he chided himself. _Stop worrying. Just go in there and find your cabin. Things'll turn out fine. Right?_

He couldn't muster a truthful answer, so he stepped forward and began to walk to the Great Hall, the place where all campers first stopped to see if they were on the A-team or the B-team, what cabin they were in, what counselor had they gotten, etc.

As soon as Hiccup came inside the doors, he was nearly knocked over by a swarm of workers who had just ended their lunch break. Hiccup was nearly trampled upon considering the size of these men and women. Since Hiccup was on the smaller side, these sort of things happened a lot, and he managed to squeeze by without too many additional problems. The workers didn't even know he was there.

Panting, Hiccup pivoted away from the group and looked around for the papers that Stoick had told him would be stapled on the wall. Where is it, where is it…

He then saw some white on the wall to his left and turned to it, hoping he had found the right thing.

Fortunately, he was correct. They were the right papers that would tell him where to go. He hurried closer to them and studied them until he found his name underneath a cabin called 'Blacksmiths.'

...

 ** _A-TEAM_** _(Leader: Gobber the Belch)_

 _._

 _ **BLACKSMITHS' CABIN** (partnered with WEAPONS)_

 _Counselor: Gobber the Belch_

 _._

 ** _Campers:_**

 _Finnegan Ingerman_

 _Hadley Haddock_

 _Spencer Jorgenson_

 _Timothy Thorston_

...

Hiccup couldn't stop staring at the list. _Spencer_ was here? He shivered, hoping he had misread the text, but it was still there. Spencer Jorgenson, Hiccup's not-so-dear cousin, was in his own cabin.

Hiccup had known Spencer was going to Camp Dragons, too, but he had hoped that he would be in a different cabin than him. He had prayed that his cousin would be placed far, far away from him. But, no. Hiccup's rotten luck was shredding up all of his hope.

And who was 'Gobber the Belch?' Whoever he was, he didn't sound too friendly… not too friendly at all…

Hiccup prayed that maybe he would be allowed a little bit of luck this time. Just a little that would let his counselor not favor Spencer above the others- like every other time this sort of thing happened. Just the smallest drop of good fortune that would get him through Spencer's abusing this summer.

With yet another heaving sigh, Hiccup checked the list again to see who else was on the A-team with him. There were two cabins per team, after all. Maybe he would recognize a name from the other list.

He read,

...

 _ **A-TEAM** (Leader: Gobber the Belch)_

 _._

 _ **WEAPONS' CABIN** (partnered with BLACKSMITHS)_

 _Counselor: Spitelout Jorgenson_

 _._

 ** _Campers:_**

 _Astrid Hofferson_

 _Rachel Thorston_

 _Heather Oswall_

...

Hiccup gaped.

 _Astrid._

Fireworks could've gone off in his head for the exhilaration he felt.

She was on _his_ team? The beautiful, tough, incredibly talented teenage girl was on his team? Hiccup could hardly believe it.

Astrid Hofferson went (or used to go, as school had ended) to Berk Middle School with him, along with Spencer. Hiccup had had a hopeless crush on her since the third year of Berk Elementary School that had carried on for many years. And he was to be on the same team with her? He fought off a grin, but it eventually shone through. Maybe his luck was turning after all! Now he was _really_ determined to prove himself this summer. Because maybe Astrid would look at him at just the right time… and maybe she would be impressed with him… and maybe that would lead to a friendship… which might grow into something bigger…!

But before he could get too excited, he remembered something: the Weapons' Cabin's counselor's last name was Jorgenson. Just like Spencer's. Hiccup prayed that it wasn't Spencer's father, Sidney Jorgenson. It was just a coincidence that they had the same last name…

However, deep down, Hiccup had the feeling that it _was_ his uncle. And that wasn't good news. Not at all.

Hands gripping the straps of his backpack, Hiccup turned away. He could worry about that later. After all, this Spitelout wasn't _his_ counselor. He wasn't even the main counselor. Gobber was. So... maybe he shouldn't be that concerned after all.

Distracted, Hiccup stumbled over to the exit. He was so lost in his thoughts that he ran into a gigantic man who was strolling by outside.

"OOF!" said Hiccup as he crashed into the guy. The man acted like Hiccup was a feather. In other words, like the boy hadn't had any impact at all.

"Whoooo, slow down there, laddie," said the man, straightening himself as Hiccup pulled back. "Yeh could hurt yerself if yeh don't."

Hiccup's head snapped up in surprise. He knew that accent! But, why... how...? "Mr. Gerald! What- what are you doing here?"

Mr. Gerald was Stoick's best friend since boyhood. He ran a mechanics shop in Berk Town Square, and Hiccup often helped out there on the weekends. He was, as Mr. Gerald called him, his 'apprentice.' That suited Hiccup just fine. And Hiccup was surprisingly very talented in the forge, which was a plus. He was at last skilled at _something_ , which made those sweaty hours all the worth it.

"Mr. Gerald? Who's that?" the man asked. "I'm _Gobber_. Gobber the Belch, camp counselor of the Blacksmiths." He scratched at his big blonde mustache.

Hiccup stared up at him in disbelief. "Wait, wait, wait- _you're_ Gobber?"

It wasn't that he was disappointed... he was more shocked than anything else. He tried to gather this new information… So… basically, he would spend his summer in the company of the man he had worked for through the entire school year. Well. Wasn't that great…

"'Course I am," said Gobber cheerily. "And I believe yeh're in my cabin. Well, welcome to Camp Dragons, Hadley. I was just on my way teh the Blacksmiths' Cabin. Yeh can walk with me."

"Erm- alright."

The two continued walking in the direction of the Blacksmiths' Cabin, Gobber as merry as ever, and Hiccup slightly uncomfortable at the situation.

"The other boys are already unpacking," Gobber told him, "as yeh got here a wee bit late. But not teh worry, yeh still have time teh catch up... well, hopefully."

"That's comforting," Hiccup muttered.

"Well," said Gobber. "It's not so much what yeh _brought_ that makes a difference... it's how yeh're built. I mean... do yeh really have enough strength and efficiency to unpack everything yeh have within ten minutes?" He looked over Hiccup's scrawny figure. "I mean... looking at all of..." He made a vague gesture towards Hiccup's body. " _This_."

Hiccup threw his hands up. "You just gestured to _all_ of me!" he complained.

Gobber gave a noncommittal shrug. "Now, Hadley, yeh're thinking about this all wrong... at camp, it's not what's _inside_ that counts, but _outside_."

Hiccup made a face. "Thank you, for summing that up."

"No problem!" smiled Gobber. "Alright, back teh the cabin... yes... the reason I'm not there already is that there was a slight mix up in the Weapons' Cabin, our partner cabin on the A-team. Yeh'll meet them in just a little bit. Anyways, one of the girls- Heather, I believe- was promised to be on the other team. Her brother- one of the counsellors on the B-team- refused to have kin on the 'enemy' side. Enemy side, as if... heheh... Well, it's all fixed up now! It did take a little bit to sort out, though. The paperwork part Camp Dragons can be a _bit_ disorganized, and that's where the problem probably started. But, there's nothing wrong with a little messiness! It's what makes us Dragons! Proud teh be called one fer five years now. Yeh will be too, Hadley, I just know that yeh'll like it here. All boys do, I know me and yer father did. Yeh'll do well here, too- ah, here we are!"

Not even breathless from his monologue, Gobber strutted up to their cabin door and pulled it open for Hiccup. Hiccup nodded in thanks, then stepped inside.

Three other boys were making a ruckus inside, whether it was fighting over the top bunk or whose pillow was whose. They didn't even stop when Hiccup came in.

However, they did stop when Gobber shuffled in behind Hiccup and yelled, "Alright, now, settle down, boys!"

The three immediately froze mid-argument and turned to their counselor. Though they didn't know who exactly Gobber was, they could tell that he had authority over them. Hiccup studied each boy. There was Spencer, his cousin, who was on the beefy side; a skinny guy with really long dreadlocks; and an anxious-looking husky boy with blonde hair. Hiccup recalled everyone's names- Spencer, Finnegan, and Timothy- but he didn't know who was who, save Spencer.

"Alright, then," said Gobber. "Since we're all here, I think we can start making introductions teh each other..."

"But we already have," the guy with the dreadlocks said dumbly.

"No, yeh haven't. See this fishbone here?" He nudged Hiccup, who gave him a horrified look at the nickname. "Yeh haven't met him yet. Me either, come teh think of it. Well, I'm Gobber, yer counselor for these next few months at Camp Dragons." There was a slight pause. "Well, go on, then, introduce yerselves... and _properly_ , boys, no more shoving each other around. Fer tonight, at least."

Spencer stepped up, smirking. "I'm Spencer... nice to meet you, _Hadley_." However, his sneer suggested that it was not nice to meet him at all.

The skinny boy looked stunned. "Woah! How'd you know his name was Hadley? You have got to teach me your secrets, Spence."

"That's Timothy," the husky guy said, inclining his head towards the other guy. He had a squeaky, nervous sort of voice. "I'm Finnegan." He stuck out a hand, which Hiccup gladly shook. Finnegan looked the most sane out of the three, and Hiccup decided that if he had to be friends with any of them, Finnegan would be his first choice.

"Hadley," said Hiccup, and Finnegan nodded in acknowledgement.

Gobber rubbed his hands together. "Well, now yeh can just forget those names, boys. Because here at Camp Dragons, we have _nicknames_ for everybody. Fer example, my name outside of Camp Dragons is Gerald, not Gobber. But, at Camp Dragons, my real name is Gobber the Belch. See?"

Spencer crossed his arms, unimpressed. "Do we get to choose our own new names?"

Timothy bounced with excitement. "Ooh, yes! I'll choose something like _Sleuther_ or- or _Conqueror of All_ , or-"

"I've already picked out yer names," Gobber cut in, ignoring Timothy. "I think yeh'll like them fair enough."

The boys started to stir excitedly, turning over ideas in their heads. Hiccup was truly exhilarated at the prospect of another name. He had always hated his own name, as it could also be used as a girl's, which earned even more teasing. But with a new name, he could be a completely new person. A better person. A more popular person. He could do _anything_. He loosened his grip on his backpack straps, feeling a little less nervous. This would turn out great, he could almost _feel_ it… Fate was finally shining the spotlight on him…

"Timothy," began Gobber, facing the said boy, who straightened in his excitement.

"Yessir!"

"Yer new name is..."

Gobber placed a dramatic pause.

"TUFFNUT!"

Timothy- or Tuffnut now- cheered. "Woo! Sounds dangerous."

"Yer twin sister, Rachel, I think, is now called Ruffnut, just fer reference," continued Gobber. Hiccup's heart fluttered at those names, and he hoped that he'd get as cool a name as Tuffnut did. "And now, Finnegan..."

The boy swallowed. "Uh... yes? Sir?"

"Yer name is now... _Fishlegs_."

Fishlegs gaped, making an undeniable similarity to his name. "F-Fishlegs?!" he spluttered. "But- but-"

Tuffnut sniggered. "More like _Guppylegs_..." That earned a laugh from Spencer, making Hiccup set his jaw. He had had more than enough experience of being laughed at, and knew that Fishlegs must've been feeling awful at the ridicule.

"Spencer," said Gobber. "Yeh're now known as Snotlout."

The boy nodded after a moment, smiling a little. "Pretty cool."

Gobber turned to Hiccup, who was now watching this in slow motion. He heard his heart pound so heavily, it could've exploded with the tension. But it didn't. Not yet. He needed to hear his name first.

"Hadley..."

His shaking fingers crossed.

"You are now..."

Hiccup's eyes squeezed shut in prayer. _Please, please, please, please, please…_

"...Hiccup!"

And just like that, every hope and dream for this summer crumbled to pieces.

Gobber's voice rang in his ears.

 _"Hiccup!"_

 _Hiccup._

Hiccup.

As his fuzzy mind sunk back into reality, he became distinctly aware of Snotlout and Tuffnut jeering at him. Even Fishlegs wore a pitying look as he glanced over Hiccup.

"Hiccup?" Snotlout howled. " _Hiccup_? HA HA HA HA HA! You do realize that a _hiccup_ is a _mistake_?" He laughed some more. "Well, there's nothing more fitting than that for- ah- _Hiccup the Useless_."

Tuffnut grinned in response, doubling over with his snickers.

Hiccup couldn't keep a miserably shocked expression off of his face. Out of _all_ the names, Gobber had chosen Hiccup. _Hiccup._ Out of _every_... single... _one_... He would've even gone with _Guppylegs_. After all, it was better than a name that literally meant 'mistake.'

Hiccup distantly turned away to the last vacant bunk. It was underneath his cousin, Snotlout's, bed. _Oh joy_ , thought Hiccup sarcastically. _Today must be my lucky day. Ignorant fathers, embarrassing nicknames, and I probably won't even be able to_ sleep _well tonight._

Forget what he had thought earlier. He had absolutely _everything_ to worry about.

* * *

 **Alas, even in our own universe, Hiccup has the worst of luck…**

 **I hope you're enjoying this so far! Updates will be weekly, most likely on Friday, but I might switch it up a few times. And to answer a few questions you guys might ask, YES, Toothless will be in here (and come in within the next two chapters), YES, Astrid will make an appearance next chapter, and NO, there will not be any dragons in here. Also, next chapter, a lot about the camp will be explained, so don't worry if you don't understand what the "A-team" is, or what is Stoick's importance to the story... you'll see.**

 **Suggested story of the week: 'How to Train Your Hiccup' by thepurplewriter333.**

 **See you next time!**


	2. Revelation

**Hello! Thank you for all of your lovely reviews, follows, and faves.**

 **Also, guys, I'm just going to say it now… I have never been to a summer camp, nor a sleepaway, or anything of the sort, so forgive me if I make any mistakes about camp in here. Just a heads up, though. :-)**

 **Suggested story of the week: 'When Life Gives You Lightning' by katurdi.**

* * *

 **Revelation**

* * *

Despite Gobber's earlier comments, it didn't take too long to unpack the necessities, and soon Hiccup was ready to go to the Great Hall with the others. There was a yearly opening ceremony there where the camp leader talked and told the campers the rules, the history of camp, and more.

As the four boys trudged across the grass, Hiccup attempted to hide from Snotlout, who had been relentlessly teasing him about Hiccup's new name since he had received it. Hiccup was still ashamed and embarrassed. He also was a little miffed with Gobber. He thought he could trust his counselor. But, no, Gobber _had_ to name him _Hiccup._

"Alright, boys, come on in now, we're already late enough as it is," said Gobber as they reached the entrance of the Great Hall. The campers scurried inside, stumbling over each other in effort to be the first one inside.

As soon as the door was opened, Hiccup's ears were filled with a noisy din of young campers eager to start the summer. There weren't too many kids at all (maybe twenty at most), but a lot of parents hovered around, taking up space. Benches were lined up all over the Hall, as well as a small stage where the counsellors stood around.

The counsellors consisted of a muscled, bald man with a brown mustache (he looked very murderous, so Hiccup took it into mind not to mess with him); a young man with a shock of red hair and streaks of blue face paint… that particular guy was grinning like an insane man, and Hiccup decided to stay away from him, as well. Next was a stout man with dark hair, a goatee, and a gloating smirk that suggested he knew everything in the world; then, a massive hulk of a man, dark and rugged. Just looking at him make Hiccup shiver.

Standing together were a woman with short strawberry blonde hair and a broad man with an orange top. And after them… oh gods… there was a familiar sight of a beefy man with an expression nothing less than nasty. Hiccup's uncle, Sidney- or now Spitelout. Hiccup shuddered. His suspicions, to his disappointment, had been correct. Spitelout would be one of his counsellors… oh, joy, this day kept on getting better and better…

And then there was Stoick, making small talk with his brother. Hiccup felt his heart pound heavily when he imagined his father hearing of what his new name was. Wouldn't that go well.

Suddenly, Hiccup's father turned to face the room. Without even having to cup his hands, he roared, "QUIET!"

The room silenced at his voice, turning in their seats to face him. Hiccup and his cabin mates found seats at the back of the room. The Weapons' Cabin campers were already there, and Hiccup's breath caught when he saw Astrid Hofferson sitting with a girl with long and wild braids. Ruffnut, Hiccup guessed. Gobber had mentioned her to Tuffnut when he had received his nickname. Hiccup wondered what Astrid's nickname was.

"Welcome to Camp Dragons," said Stoick roughly, pacing the stage. "My name is Stoick Haddock, and I'm your camp leader… though, here, I'm more well-known as Chief Stoick… the Vast."

A few people giggled, but it was quite true; Stoick _was_ a massive man.

"Congratulations for getting in, Dragons, as we are a _very_ secluded camp and only a select few are allowed to take part of this time here," Stoick told them. "This year, we have as few as twenty-four with us. This makes your experience more direct and you get more out of these few months here. We have been a camp for many a year. My grandfather, Haymitch Haddock, first founded this camp in high hopes of teaching the next generations about nature, and how it shouldn't be forgotten as technology grows."

There were a few nods from parents in the back. Meanwhile, a couple of kids held up their phones to see if there was any WiFi service. Hiccup awkwardly noted that he didn't have a phone yet.

Stoick said, "When Haymitch died, the camp was passed on his son-"

"Wha- he's _dead_?!" gasped Tuffnut. He was sitting on Hiccup's left side, making Hiccup wince at the sudden noise. "I didn't even know he was _sick_!"

There were a few chuckles- but mostly glares- at the boy. Stoick cleared his throat threateningly, then continued after Tuffnut had shrunk deeply enough into the bench.

"And the camp has been passed down the family line since… I am the camp leader now, and someday, my son will inherit the title." Stoick made a vague gesture to the back of the room where Hiccup was sitting.

Hiccup tried to look buff as people turned their heads to look at the supposed prodigy. A few of their eyes caught on Snotlout, wondering if it was him. Hiccup waved slightly to let them know that _he_ was the son of their leader, but the campers had already glanced away. Hiccup wilted slightly. To make matters worse, he caught Astrid staring at him in a not-so-nice way due to this sudden fact that the camp would someday be led by... well... _Hiccup_ , in a nutshell...

"That is the history of Camp Dragons," Stoick resumed. "Now, I have to go over a few of our very important rules that you mustn't break… for your safety, and ours…

"One of the most important rules is not to go beyond the Fence. The Fence is located a little ways away in the woods. It blocks out the nastier part of the woods. Though you are all allowed to go up to the Fence at all times, unless your counselors say otherwise, do _not_ go beyond it. There are dangerous creatures that lurk in the deeper part of the forest that you _don't_ want to face."

Fishlegs whimpered in fear. He sat at Hiccup's right side, and also right next to Astrid. "W-w-what do you think he means, _dangerous creatures_?" he whispered to no one in particular. "Are- _are we not safe_?"

Snotlout and Tuffnut too looked a little spooked at Stoick's words. Hiccup was secretly afraid himself, but tried to wave it off. He needed to appear free-spirited and upbeat as always.

"I think we're okay," Hiccup murmured back, "as long as we don't go beyond the Fence."

Hiccup, though, was not one to follow the rules. He had been different since the day he was born, so why should now be any different? He really wouldn't be surprised if he happened to wander past the Fence. He was always getting into trouble _somehow_ , even if he tried to avoid it.

"Secondly," boomed Stoick. "Do _not_ go out of your cabins after curfew. Those who have done this have been punished… by punished, I mean dish duty for the rest of the summer. And I don't think your cooks would mind at all… would you?" He gestured to a few men in the corner, who shook their heads.

"Not at all, Chief Stoick!" one with a wild brown beard said.

"Yes!" another chimed in. He had blonde hair, and a bucket on his head. Hiccup found this strange. Who wore a _bucket_ on their head. "Mulch is right. We don't really like our job." He became sad. "It's always, 'Bucket, cook this!' or 'Mulch, do that!' Sometimes, I would really like a ne-"

But his friend, 'Mulch', had already clamped a hand over his mouth, chuckling nervously over the fact that his partner had been about to complain about their job to their employer.

"Point is," he said to the crowd, "we can use _anyone_."

Stoick's brow was furrowed at their behavior, but he nodded. "Yes. So I do hope that all of you lads and lasses follow that rule. Unless, of course, you like scraping sloppy joes off of cutlery…?"

Nearly everyone in the room shook their heads.

"I didn't think so. Now, on about explaining how Camp Dragons works…

"There are four teams. The A-team, B-team, C-team, and D-team. At the end of the year, pairs of teams will compete against each other with their knowledge of what they have learned during their time at Camp Dragons. A final test, shall you say. It is the A-team against the B-team, and the C-team against the D-team. All four of the teams are made up of two cabins per group, one full of boys, and one of girls. A-team: Blacksmiths and Weapons; B-team: Outcasts and Berserkers; C-team: Defenders and Winged; and D-team: Hunters and Shellfire."

He began to point to different counsellors. "The counsellors are Gobber the Belch and Spitelout Jorgenson on the A-team; Alvin the Treacherous and Dagur the Deranged on the B-team..."

Hiccup saw the red-haired man flash a maniacal grin to the crowd. _I see why they call him 'the Deranged'_ , thought Hiccup with a shudder.

"...Mala and Throk on the C-team, and Viggo and Ryker Grimborn on the D-team...

"Throughout the time you are here," said Stoick, "your counsellors will teach you the skills you need to know for the final test. They will include navigation, fishing, hunting, survival, and thinking on your feet. Your counsellors will tell you which ones you will be tested on. However, there is a random subject at the end of the test, so I warn you now to remember _everything_ , as you could be tested on anything at all. In addition, a few weeks before the end of the year, one camper from each team will be chosen to show their skills off to their family and friends. Just one- the very best camper of your team. So, if you want a chance to prove yourself, then work hard..."

Stoick then straightened, gazing over his new round of campers. "I will not be present the entire year, but if you have any questions, ask your counsellors or a worker, and they'll be sure to tell you. Tonight, you will all get a chance to know your team at our annual team bonfire. Teams will go one at a time." He nodded to them all. "That is all. Now, enjoy your time at Camp Dragons."

As he left the stage, the campers and parents applauded after him. Gobber took the stage, grinning.

"Thank yeh, Stoick, fer that always wonderful speech yeh give every year," he acknowledged. "And now, we dismiss… campers back teh their cabins and parents back teh their cars… say yer goodbyes now, Dragons. It'll be a _long_ two and a half months."

While everyone scrambled to say their farewells to their families, Hiccup pushed through the crowd to get to his father, who was looking as grim as ever. He was talking with the muscled man- Ryker, Hiccup remembered- in a serious voice.

Hiccup caught some of their conversation.

"-ghtings getting more frequent," Ryker was growling. "We've set up a couple o' traps in the woods, but the thing is too smart for that. And too big."

Stoick scratched his enormous red beard. "Whatever you do, just make sure that the campers are safe. That's our main priority. It is, and it has to be, or... we all know what will happen to camp if not."

"Yes, Chief…"

Hiccup came in, slightly ashamed that he had been eavesdropping. But on the other hand, it sounded really important. Something had been spotted near camp. And from the sounds of it, it was dangerous… and what was that bit about something happening to camp if something didn't happen? What did that all mean? Hiccup tried to shrug it off... he shouldn't have been listening, anyways...

"Hey, Dad," said Hiccup, interrupting the men. Stoick looked down on his son, faintly annoyed. He wouldn't be leaving now like all of the other parents, as he was camp leader and instead staying till tomorrow morning.

"Yes, Hadley?"

Hiccup glanced down, then back up again. "It's- uh- Hiccup now… but, anyways…" He tried to ignore his father's surprised and disappointed look. "Well… that's actually what I came here to talk about. Could you maybe decree that my nickname is something else? Like _Thor Bonecrusher_ , or… o-or maybe even _Guppylegs_?" Yes, he was that desperate.

Stoick crossed his hairy arms. "Has Ger-Gobber already named you Hiccup?"

"I guess, b-"

"And are the other boys already calling you it?"

Hiccup slumped. "Yeah, but-"

"Then no," said Stoick. "Your name now is… Hiccup." He said it fragily, with a hint of distaste. "Now, go on back to your cabin. You'll need rest for what's going down tonight, son…"

Hiccup sighed, but knew how stubborn his father was. _He_ was too, stubborn, but he didn't quite have enough energy to fight back. "Fine, Dad…"

So he slowly went back to his group.

* * *

For a few hours, the boys had to stay in their cabin, told to finish their unpacking and get to know each other better; the other teams got to go to the bonfire before them. The A-team was dead last on the list for tonight.

Snotlout was not even the slightest bit interested in making friends with Hiccup or Fishlegs, so he took to trying to influence his malevolent ways on Tuffnut. The other boy was all too eager to learn. Hiccup and Fishlegs made small talk as far away from the others as they could. There was an unspoken and joint agreement to avoid Snotlout at all costs, and at all times.

Hiccup had brought a camera with him that printed instant pictures. He liked to capture his surroundings with it, and prefered to hold a hard copy of them in his hands, so an instant camera was perfect. He now snapped a few pictures of camp from their cabin's window. Fishlegs twiddled with his fingers, sighing on occasion, then backing even further away from Snotlout; he had really grown to love to tease him.

Finally, long since the sun had set, Gobber came back to their cabin with news that it was their turn for the campfire. The boys had excitedly ran out of the cabin. They were starving, as no dinner had been served tonight. They would eat at the bonfire.

Soon, the A-team was all settled around a roaring fire and munching on hotdogs, hamburgers, and chips. Hiccup sat down next to Astrid and gave a wavery smile.

"He- h- hi, A-Astrid," he stuttered.

Astrid took a bite out of her hamburger, chewing thoughtfully without a reply.

"So..." He rubbed his sweaty palms together. "Wh- what nickname did you get? I got Hiccup... great name, I know... but it's not the worst..." _...Or is it?_

Astrid swallowed her bite. "I'm still Astrid," she said after a moment. "I didn't want a nickname. I refused to have one, in fact... so I was allowed to keep my own."

And with that, she turned away, completely ignoring him.

Poor Hiccup took the hint and went to sit on a lone log by himself. Fishlegs had abandoned him for the food table. He looked back at Astrid, who was sitting near Snotlout. Snotlout was trying to show off, flexing his muscles (which were, to Hiccup's dismay, larger than he remembered) and flirting with Astrid. To Hiccup's immense relief, Astrid wasn't impressed with Snotlout. She just seemed annoyed. Annoyed with everything, it appeared. Still, Hiccup was tense as he watched and he ignored his dinner plate. His appetite had gone a long time ago. He just couldn't stop watching Astrid. The way the firelight reflected on her sky-blue eyes... on her braided blonde hair...

Hopefully, this summer, she would finally acknowledge his presence. Maybe even offer him one of her rare smiles. Now _that_ would be something. So he had to prove himself. Make himself noticed. Do something brave, or do well in training… but _how_ , exactly, would he manage that?

Crickets chirped the the woods. The moon glowed eerily through billowing clouds. Hiccup could see sprinkles of stars here and there, but the cloud cover was too thick to catch too many of them. Still, he could tell that there were a lot, as there wasn't nearly as much light pollution out here as there was in the town where Hiccup lived.

Gobber swiped his mouth with his forearm, smearing ketchup and mayonnaise all over himself. "How did everyone like their meals?"

There were a few cheers of approval- mostly coming from Fishlegs, who had once again returned to the food table.

"Good." Gobber leaned forward on his log, setting his dinner plate next to him. "Well, everyone should be done by now… come, now, gather 'round the fire…"

The bonfire had weakened since the gang had gathered, and now was only half of what it had been when it started. Still, it was bigger than what the usual fire would be, and certainly warmer.

Gobber captured everyone's attention with the words, "I have a story for yeh all… a ghost story… one that consists of a beautiful princess turned into a witch and an unassuming knight…"

Fishlegs was eventually dragged from the food table so Gobber could start his tale. He looked a little queasy from all the food he had consumed, but still listened to Gobber's story.

It was a spooky tale that frightened everybody at least a little. Even Astrid's eyes were wide at the scary parts. Hiccup's heart thumped rapidly in his chest when Gobber came out of his murmurs with a sudden shout that made them all jump. By the nearing end of the ghost story, everyone was on edge. Snotlout looked anxious, his nerves frayed. He jolted at every crack of the forest, nearly screaming that it was the ghost princess coming to haunt them. Hiccup was slightly amused at this behavior, but didn't really care. Well… _that_ much…

"And Penelope still roams her castle today," said Gobber in a whispered voice. "Looming like a shadow over yeh shoulder… with a thirst for revenge on the knight that had taken everything away from her… some say that she sometimes leaves her palace to come haunt this very camp…" He paused, cupping his ear. "Do you hear that wind?"

The campers listened intently. Hiccup heard a faint whistling of a gale.

Gobber scratched at his mustache. "That's Penelope right now… screaming that she will avenge he-"

 _AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AWW… AWW… AWOOOOOOO!_

Gobber was cut off by a series of mournful howling that made Snotlout let out a very unmanly shriek of, " _Don't let her get me!_ "

The others were too spooked, and Fishlegs had squeaked out a yelp of terror. Tuffnut clung to his twin sister, terrified that his idol, Snotlout, had been brought to this state. If _he_ was afraid, then Tuffnut should be petrified.

"Geroff!" Ruffnut yelled, shoving her brother away. She was tough, but Gobber's ghost stories had wormed placed a little fear in her heart. Still, that didn't give Tuffnut any excuse!

"What was that?" said Astrid, looking alarmed. "Wolves? Coyotes? Just give me something big, I can fight it-"

"-though I have no doubt that yeh can, Astrid," Gobber cut in, "that's not what it was."

The campers froze.

"Then what is it?" Hiccup wondered aloud, speaking his team's unanimous thought.

Gobber shrugged like that dreadful howling was no big deal. "There's a pack of wild dogs that runs around here. Chief Stoick's father had been training some hunting dogs many a year ago, but something happened, and they all ran off. They've been breeding for years, yeh can tell, 'cause no dog lives too long in the wild. Ah, don't look at me like that- that's a dog's howl, I'd bet my last bottle of be- well, yeh get it." He shook his head. "Anyways, that's not the thing yeh _really_ have the worry about."

Snotlout whimpered. "Then what _is_?"

For once, Gobber solemned.

"There's a strange creature," he said, "nicknamed the 'Red Death.' It lurks up there in the cliffs of Camp Dragons… yeh've seen 'em in the daytime, I'm sure…"

With a shiver, Hiccup recalled seeing the faint outline of cliffs a couple of hours ago. He had had no idea that it was home to a creature so bad it had a nickname with the word _death_ in it.

"What is it?" said Astrid tentatively.

Once again, Gobber shrugged, though this one was more of an _I-don't-know_ kind of shrug. "No one knows," he told them. "No one has ever seen it up close… that is, and lived teh tell the tale."

A shudder ran through the campers.

"All yeh need to know is that this beast is very dangerous," Gobber continued. "It's nicknamed the 'Red Death' fer a reason… its coat is stained with the blood of its prey. It's always red… and always brings death. It's threatened the camp fer years now, and no matter what we do, we can't get it away… some people have heard about our present dilemma, and now refuse teh send their kids here. It's getting that serious." He lowered his voice a notch. "Sometimes, it comes as close up to camp as the Fence itself." He pointed into the forest, where they could see a faint white outline in the dark. "On… on nights like these, actually, it comes out… partly cloudy… but just enough light…" He nodded. "Wouldn't be surprised if it made an appearance tonight."

Snotlout gave a squeak. "B-b-but, we're safe _inside_ the Fence, ar-ar-aren't we?" he blustered. A few campers rolled their eyes at his anxiety, even though they were pretty terrified themselves.

Gobber met Snotlout's eyes in unblinking seriousness. "Probably," he only said, only adding to the pool of fear.

" _Oh_ -kay," said Hiccup, standing. "I don't know about you, but I've… I've had enough for tonight. So, um, I'm just going to head back to my cabin now, if that's alright with you, Gobber… uh…" He glanced at Astrid, who was staring at him with an expression that was ceratainly _not_ amused. His cheeks flushed slightly, and he was only able to cool them be thinking, _I've still got all of summer to prove myself... I can still impress Astrid..._ He swallowed. "Goodnight…"

He hurried back to the Blacksmiths' Cabin.

A few minutes later, Fishlegs scurried inside behind him, panting as he slammed the door shut and leaned against it. From the way he was breathing, Hiccup guessed that he had ran the entire way back. Probably in fear that the Red Death would get him.

No more than ten minutes after Fishlegs' arrival, Snotlout and Tuffnut entered the room. By then, the other boys had already prepared for bed. Fishlegs was lying in his bottom bunk, trying to sleep, and Hiccup at a desk scribbling in his notebook.

Snotlout and Tuffnut got ready to sleep, too, and were soon prostrate in bed. Hiccup had expected Snotlout to be up and chatting away to everyone tonight, but Gobber's stories must've really freaked him out. He was completely quiet. Not that Hiccup was complaining or anything. He was downright _glad_ that his cousin was silent for once. A few hours passed, but it only seemed like minutes to Hiccup. Soon, it was nearing midnight.

He was writing a letter in his notebook. It wasn't to a particular person... more like... his future self. Memoirs of what was going on in the past. He had just taped in his picture of camp inside.

 _This_ , he wrote underneath the photo, _is camp. I'm here for two and a half months. Camp is located solidly next to the Forest of Death. It also can be found under the Cliffs of Crazy._

He knew he wasn't being fair to the really only averagely odd camp, but he hadn't, after all, had a very good day. That tended to get most people in a bad mood… note the _most._ Hiccup, however, always grew more and more sarcastic when agitated.

 _Camp Dragons… in a word, busy. There are only twenty-four campers this year, yet we manage to get into all the trouble there is. We're going to fish, hunt, and a whole lot of other stuff I'll probably fail at. It's a great, enlightening camp with counsellors that are sure to boost your moral._

He thought of Gobber then, with a smile as he remembered what had happened earlier.

 _The only problems are the woodland creatures. See, most places have racoons, or rabbits... but we have…_ Hiccup smirked as he wrote the next line. _The Red D-_

 _AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

A spine-chilling howl interrupted Hiccup's letter, and he dropped his pencil on his notebook in surprise. Fishlegs squealed and jolted up to a sitting position, terrified. Tuffnut was out cold, but Snotlout lifted a groggy head and whimpered a little.

"It's okay," Hiccup assured. "It's just those dogs again…"

Yet there was a wriggle of doubt in his gut. A wriggle that told him that it was _not_ just a dog.

An idea sprang into his head.

What if it was… what if it was...

He swallowed, turning his head towards the door.

 _The Red Death._

He tried to convince himself that it wasn't it. It was the dogs again. But that howl… it sounded so close… close… like it was up to the Fence… and hadn't Gobber said it liked to come out on nights like this?

Hiccup stood to his feet, shaky, then began to walk. He felt odd, as if he didn't have control of his own movements. Like he was watching himself walk over to the door.

He reached the exit… and he opened the door…

The familiar hum of crickets filled his ears as he stepped onto the cabin's slight porch. His heart fluttered so loudly in his chest, he was afraid that whatever had howled might hear him.

 _Awoooooo!_

Another cry pierced the air, yet this one was quieter. However, it sounded closer than before.

Hiccup squinted into the line of trees, shivering. _Where is it, where is it, where is it…_

And then he saw it.

There was a black smudge which he previously hadn't seen in the dark, but now that it was moving… Hiccup saw it, alright. It was right up on the Fence, sniffing around. Hiccup's breath caught. _Could it be…? The… the Red_ Death… _?_

The smudge was moving again, but not much. It seemed to be just _wriggling_ in the dirt- not walking around at all. But why-

Hiccup nearly screamed when he realized the answer.

It was digging. Digging to get underneath the Fence. Digging to get to camp. Digging to… to get to Hiccup.

Hiccup's mind raced. He had to stop this thing! If it got inside camp, he didn't know what would happen. Actually, he had a slight idea of what would go down… It was called _the Red Death…_ oh, yes, he had a small guess of what damage it could do…

Panting, he ducked back inside the cabin. He needed a weapon. Something to hit it and send it running. But _what?_ He didn't have anything that would work.

But he had an idea of where to look.

He turned to the closet door of his cabin. Gobber had told them that their supplies for their training would be kept inside of there. And Stoick had said that one of the training exercises was hunting. With hunting, you needed-

"Guns," Hiccup breathed, staring at the small pile on the floor.

They weren't real- just BB guns. But _anything_ would work in this case. Anything.

Hurriedly, he grabbed one. He heard the soft clanking of something inside rolling around. Good. It was already loaded with the lead pellets. His father had taught him how to shoot a BB gun when he was ten, so he knew how to work it. Mostly.

Slinging the gun over his shoulder, Hiccup ran from the room and back outside. He fumbled to aim the BB gun correctly, the process taking a few moments. At the last minute, he remembered to turn the children's lock off, and cock it. Through the sights, he found the smudge. He nearly lost his grip on his weapon. The hole was nearly finished, and even from his far vantage spot, he could see the deep depression in the earth.

"Hey!" he yelled, trying to distract it. The thing froze. "Go on! Get out of here!"

And it did. It began to back away, getting faster as it made a retreat.

That's when Hiccup realized two things.

One: he had a gun that was ready to use.

Two: was he really going to let the terror of the camp for _years_ get away? And wouldn't taking down _the Red Death_ (if it _was_ the Red Death...) earn him popularity? Some attention from Astrid? A better nickname? A better _life_?

It was too tempting.

He scrambled to aim on the creature again, but it was hard. It was moving so fast now... _Can I make it?_ he wondered, nervous. _No. You_ have _to make it, Hiccup. You have to... for Dad, for Astrid, for friends..._

At last, Hiccup set the sights of the BB gun on the mysterious shape. It was almost out of Hiccup's sight, so he hurried on with it. _Ahh..._ _I can't make it, I can't..._

He aimed closer at the fleeing creature, sweat breaking through his forehead… _L_ _et me hit this thing..._ , he begged to no one in particular. _...Let me hit it... just this once, let my luck turn out right..._

His shoulders trembled.

 _...please?_

The thing was almost hidden away in the trees. It was now or never. Hiccup's sweaty fingers groped for the trigger blindly, clumsy and nervous. He swallowed.

 _Come on..._ come on _..._

And then he fired.


	3. To Save A Life

**Hello, hello, hello... is it Friday already? I hope everyone's had a great week. Mine's been slow and boring (stupid but wonderful summer). Enjoy your next installment of this story!**

 **Suggested story of the week: 'Wild Spirits' by FanWriter02.**

* * *

 **To Save A Life**

* * *

 _POP!_ his gun cracked, shooting the ammo into the trees. Hiccup's shot was responded by-

" _AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_ "

The creature's painful cry cut into Hiccup like a knife. It wasn't even that loud, but it sounded like the TV at full volume during a battle scene. In other words, unnerving.

 _However_ , the fact that the thing had howled in agony meant that he had hit it! For once, he had actually _hit_ something! He couldn't believe it. Both surprised and elated, he cheered, "Did _anybody_ see that?"

He turned to look around the camp. A few doors had opened at his gunshot, and people who had just aroused were storming out in confusion. Hiccup's heart fell when he saw his own father stomping over to him with an expression that was certainly _not_ pleased.

"Except you," Hiccup muttered. Though he would usually be ecstatic if Stoick had seen him actually hit what he was aiming for, the countenance of the camp leader's face doused that joy.

"HICCUP!" Stoick roared, coming closer. The said boy flinched at his nickname. He would never get used to his father calling him that..."What are you doing with that gun?! It's the middle of the night!"

Hiccup realized that he was accidentally pointing the gun towards his father and tried to sling it over his shoulder. It missed, however, instead giving him a nasty bruise on his arm.

"Oh- Dad!" said Hiccup, trying to look casual. "What brings you here on this- uh- _fine_ , lovely night? Stargazing? I hear it's a full moon tonight, heheh..."

Stoick growled, "This isn't a _joke_ , Hiccup! Someone could've been hurt with that thing- again, what are you even _doing_ with it?"

Hiccup swallowed. "What am _I_ doing with _it_...? I don't know what you're... what... Um... well..." He tried for a counter question. "Aren't- aren't _you_ usually the one who loves all of... _this_? Rooting for it, I mean? You know... Stoick-the-Vast approved?" He smiled weakly, sticking two thumbs up.

"We're _Dragons_ ," Stoick said in a dangerously low voice. "It's an occupational hazard. Now, what crazy scheme have you pulled now?"

By now, many people had come out of their cabins to watch the unfolding scene- including Hiccup's cabin mates. Even Tuffnut had been roused by the gunshot, and stood sleepily by the door with the other two boys. Hiccup was distracted by this.

"Hiccup!" Stoick snapped. "Answer me."

"There was something out there, Dad!" said Hiccup, waving his gun towards the Fence. The creature had vanished from sight, probably making some last attempt to run before the effects of its wound caught up with it. "Maybe it was the Red Death! I- I heard it howl. We all did." He jerked a head towards Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Tuffnut. "Right, guys?"

Stoick looked over the other three doubtfully. Fishlegs looked terrified out of his mind, Tuffnut was picking his nose, and Snotlout was already dozing off again.

"Is this true?" the leader asked them in a deep, quiet tone.

Fishlegs was too hysterical with fear to give a clear answer. He was half-crying, half screaming in his anxiousness that "he would be the next victim." Tuffnut had been asleep until the shot, so couldn't reply truthfully, and Snotlout… well, Snotlout wasn't too afraid to speak, and he had been awake when the creature had howled before. Maybe…

Hiccup caught his cousin's eye, silently begging him to speak up that Hiccup was telling the truth. But Snotlout had a malicious look in his eye that only meant strife. Now was the time to _finally_ get Useless in trouble. He had seen Hiccup speaking with Astrid during the campfire- he had been trying to steal _Snotlout_ 's girl! Not to mention, Snotlout knew that he had earlier been acting a little too scared... he needed to regain his status. Let Hiccup know who exactly was in control. So he smirked at Hiccup, then turned to Stoick.

"No, Uncle Stoick," he said. "It's not true. Hiccup was going on and on about wanting attention last night… it was only a matter of time before something like this happened." He gave a well-placed sigh of pity. "I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you."

Stoick turned to Hiccup, flushed with rage. "Hiccup…"

Hiccup paled. "Dad, no… he's lying… he's despised me since birth, you know that- there really _was_ something!"

But his father was past listening to his son. Time and time again, Hiccup had disappointed him. Lied for attention. Embarrassed him with his crazy stunts. This… this had been there all along. He shouldn't have been surprised. He should've seen this coming...

"Hiccup," boomed Stoick. "This is unacceptable. Your _first day_ at camp, and you do this. Gosh, Hiccup, it hasn't even been _twelve hours_ yet. It almost seems like you're _looking_ for trouble!"

Hiccup shifted uncomfortably. There was a beat, then, "Okay, but I hit a creature..."

Stoick grabbed Hiccup's shoulder, shoving him back to the Blacksmiths' Cabin.

"Not like the last few times I've said that!" Hiccup protested hastily, trying to escape his father's grip. "I _really really_ hit something. Maybe it was the Red Death! You should send a couple of guys out there- it's wounded, and you guys would be safe from harm! Do we really want to let it get away? No!"

Stoick gave an annoyed sigh as he stared down at his son. They had reached the door. Everyone was watching them now, holding their breaths at the tense altercation.

"Hiccup, look- right now, you just need to stop all of… _this_." He gestured to Hiccup's entire body in a nonspecific way.

Hiccup scoffed, hurt. "But you just gestured to _all_ of me."

Stoick groaned. "Just go to bed, Hiccup. We'll talk about all of _this_ in the morning." He glared at the boy. "And I mean _straight_ to bed. No talking. No writing in that notebook of yours. Straight. To. Bed."

"Fiiinnneeeeeee," Hiccup moaned. "I'll go straight. To. Bed."

Stoick was already storming back off to his own cabin.

Hiccup sighed. "Goodnight to you, too," he grumped.

The campers were still gawking at him. Astrid was out there too, glaring at the disruption of her rest. Hiccup swallowed. _Annnndddd you just butchered_ that _dream._

"Alright, alright!" Hiccup yelled, waving his hands. "Show's over, har har. Go back to bed." Slowly, the others listened to his demand and filed back to their own settlements. Hiccup tried to ignore their whispers and glowers. _Waking us all up at the middle of the night… attention-seeking brat… that's Stoick's boy, right?... tut-tut, a bit of a disappointment, Stoick didn't look pleased..._

Hiccup then turned to go inside the Blacksmiths' Cabin. His cabin-mates were waiting for him inside- well, just Snotlout and Fishlegs. Fishlegs had been so distraught at the thought of something lurking outside that one of the counsellors had taken him back to have a calming drink of tea- and something to knock him out so he would be able to sleep through the night. He'd be back in a few hours. Hiccup's heart panged. He had been hoping that Fishlegs would've been on his side for the previous altercation. Maybe in the morning, Fishlegs could vouch for Hiccup. Yes. Yes, he would.

Hiccup smiled as he got into bed. Everything would be alright. Fishlegs would tell everyone the truth, Snotlout would get chewed out for lying, and everyone would see that he had taken down a mighty beast!

 _Great._ This was working out after all.

However… _however_ , what if no one believed Fishlegs? What if they thought, _The 'attention-seeking brat's best buddy suddenly claims he heard something? A little suspicious to me…_ Yes. He needed a backup plan. Some hard proof that no one could deny… but… what?

Sleep would evade him tonight.

* * *

The next morning, just a few minutes after the sun had stretched out of its cave, Hiccup was leaving his cabin. Last night, he had made a plan. He would go out to the forest and bring back the body of the creature he had shot down. That way, no one could deny his claim. It would fix everything for him.

He felt guilty that he was breaking yet another one of Stoick's main rules: don't go beyond the Fence. Last night, he had gone out after curfew, and that was another one of Stoick's main rules, as well. He could never stop disappointing Stoick, even in the process of trying to impress him. That was what got him in these kind of messes, more often than not.

Hiccup entered the forest, sneaking a look over his shoulder back at camp. He saw a few workers strolling around the Great Hall, but that was it. The campers didn't get up till eight fifteen, and a glance at his watch told him it was just over six thirty. He had plenty of time to get back in time before someone noticed he was missing. He took with him a knife for protection (and to finish off the beast if it wasn't dead already), a jacket, a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer for his hands (hey, it was dirty out there!), and his notebook. The necessitees.

It was a quiet morning in the forest, only a couple of birds chirping here and there. But as Hiccup progressed, even their songs faded out. It unnerved Hiccup. What was so dangerous that even the birds had stopped singing? The Red Death? Something worse?

Gulping, Hiccup forced himself to continue. He had to. For his father. For himself. He could do this.

A minute later, he reached the Fence. It was a high barrier of white wood, clearly visible to any camper who might've been lost. It didn't cut straight across camp- in fact it was rather uneven, trailing this way and that to block off the more dangerous parts of the forest yet allow Camp Dragons as much land as possible. Hiccup swallowed thickly as he looked over the gate… with a gasp, he spotted something. A few yards down, there was a deep hole. The creature last night had been digging… that was where it had been working, apparently…

It was nerve-wracking to think that the thing had been just over there a few short hours ago. How far had it gotten? Where had Hiccup hit it? What even _was_ it?

To answer all three of these questions, Hiccup had to venture past the Fence.

He glanced back at camp.

"Sorry, Dad," he whispered. "But I need you to see that I'm not an 'attention-seeking brat'. You'll see..."

Because of his nimble and agile frame, he was able to scramble over the Fence without much difficulty, using the planks to climb up. Then all he had to do was jump the gate and land on the dirt on the other side.

He winced at the sudden pressure his feet embraced, breathless. Well… he had done it. There was no turning back now. He shook his feet to get them feeling better, then resumed his walk.

This part of the forest was _wild_ , he knew. Hardly anyone went beyond it anymore, leaving the animals and the trees to do what they wanted. A few squirrels stared at him strangely as he came by. They had probably never seen a human up close before. But soon enough, their natural instinct kicked in, and they darted off. Curious-looking plants brushed Hiccup's legs, and vines snaked up onto trees. Yes, this place was most _definitely_ wild. Still, he hadn't seen anything bad yet. Maybe the other side of the Fence wasn't as bad as it seemed.

Meanwhile, Hiccup was getting restless. Where was this thing? It had to be close- a wounded animal couldn't run far. If he had hit it in the right place, that is... Still. Where could one creature go?

Annoyed, the boy hunched over in a sulk. "Someone must _really_ hate me... Some people lose their phone, or their car keys, but no- I manage to lose an _entire_ beast." Furious, he kicked at the dirt. "...this is usele-

"AGH!"

Hiccup had just stepped into a pile of mud. A small stream trickled by, probably the source of the mess. Hiccup groaned as he pulled his shoe out of it. The sneaker was coated in the slop all over the bottom. _Great… camp is just_ grand _so far…_

Something caught his eye as he tried to shake the sticky mess from his shoe. A few feet away, an imprint of a paw lay in some wet clay that had hardened overnight. There were several of the impressments, clumsy and hurried… as if the culprit of the marks had been running away from something…

The blood drained from Hiccup's face as he saw huge spots dotted around the pawprints. They were a rusty brown, dotted with hints of red. Blood… oh, boy... All of the signs added up.

The creature Hiccup had shot had been here. And it was badly hurt, from the amount of blood shown.

Hiccup breathed out shakily. So he _had_ injured it. Good. Great. _Awesome._ Now, when he found the beast, it wouldn't be strong to kill him, the fishbone he was. Most of the time, it seemed he had a target on his back for the trouble and danger he attracted.

After finishing swiping off his sneaker on the grass, he continued walking, tense with worry. This creature could be anywhere… hiding… watching… sneaking up to tear him apart… Hiccup shuddered.

Suddenly, he heard a low growl. Yelping, he turned around to try and see what had made the sound. He didn't see anything.

"See…," he whispered to himself. "It's just your imagination, Hiccup… calm down…"

 _GrrrrrrrrrRRRRAAAAWWWWW!_

But _that_ wasn't.

The snarl had come from up ahead, just over a small hill. Every instinct screamed at Hiccup to go back to camp and never come back out here. What if the thing _was_ the Red Death? What if it was just waiting for him to come close so it could pounce? Hiccup was only a fourteen year-old boy with a four-inch pocket knife. This- this was madness!

So, naturally, he kept walking.

He did, though, keep close to the ground, hunching over in an attempt to stay out of sight. Whatever was over this hill was dangerous, he knew. He needed to be cautious. It might perhaps have been something else than whatever he had shot down. Something healthy and ready to hunt… ready to hunt _Hiccup…_

He swallowed as he neared the end of the hill. Ducking down, he had a last moment of battle between his feelings. _Should I look up, or run? Clear my name, or constantly be looked down on? Seen with pride or mocked?_

A teenage boy cannot possibly judge this decision fairly.

Ever so s-l-o-w-l-y, he peeked his head up… and…

Slammed back down to the ground again, panting.

 _What_ is _that thing?_

He had seen part of some black creature lying prostrate on the ground, but hadn't gotten a good look at it, as he had immediately cowered a moment later. Was it a bear? A wolf? A coyote? Still tense, he again lifted his head for a better look. From his angle from the hill, he couldn't quite see the whole thing and therefore couldn't identify it. He needed a better vantage spot… and for that, he needed to climb over the hill and get closer…

 _You can't! That's suicide, stupid!_

 _But Dad will finally be proud of me…_

 _When you're dead? No thanks._

 _It's wounded! It won't be able to hurt me… probably…_

Yet again, temptation of being seen as some hero won out. Hiccup creeped from his spot and even closer to the creature. A minute later, he was just a few feet away from its head, where he could clearly see what the thing was.

 _Wow._

It wasn't a bear.

It wasn't a coyote.

It wasn't even a wild animal.

It was a dog. A big, dirty, seemingly-dead black dog.

"Wha-" said Hiccup, trying to gather his emotions. He had been expecting a beast! Not- not _this!_ But then, slowly he remembered Gobber's tale from last night. " _There's a pack of wild dogs that runs around here. Chief Stoick's father had been training some hunting dogs many a year ago, but something happened, and they all ran off."_

This must've been one of his grandfather's hunting dogs. Well, maybe not one of the _originals_ , but one of the descendents of them! He had never had a dog before, and didn't really know the different breeds... but if he had to guess, he'd say it was one of those police dogs. The German Shepherd. Though from the amount of dirt caked into its fur, it was difficult to know.

"Oh, gosh!" Hiccup gasped, looking over the dog. "You- oh, this fixes everything…! I can take your body back to my father and _prove_ that I wasn't breaking the rules once again. Maybe I'd even get some credit for the camp training activities… Astrid will actually _notice_ me, Snotlout will get in trouble…" He laughed, almost crazily. "It's perfect!" He nudged the dog's outstretched leg, though tentatively. It didn't move. He gained an air of confidence. " _I_ have actually shot and brought down this might bea-"

Abruptly, the dog groaned and rolled over. Almost screaming, Hiccup jerked back.

"You're alive!" he panted. "Oh. Okay. That… that makes things more difficult…"

Truth be told, he had been feeling rather guilty for shooting dead a _dog_ (even if it was a nuisance to the camp), and despite the circumstances, was relieved that he hadn't actually killed it.

The dog grunted again, this time in obvious pain rather than annoyment. _Oh, yeah..._ , Hiccup remembered. _I shot it somewhere… that's why it's like this… lying there and unmoving, stupid…_ He looked over the black creature to see what the problem was, and hissed when he spotted it. The dog's tail was half-gone and oozing blood. And the BB gun must've been a revolver, because there were other injuries near its backside, suggesting it had been shot in multiple places. Ooh... that couldn't have been comfortable.

Gulping, Hiccup shakily took his pocket knife from his pocket. He knew what he had to do… this poor creature was in pain. It'd be kinder to kill it now than to leave it to die out here alone, probably to be eaten by a passing wolf. It was a fate no one wanted, or should be subjected to.

"I… you're in pain, dog… and I'm going to try and help you out of it," Hiccup murmured. "It isn't fair- you shouldn't have to die, you're definitely not the Red Death. You're anything _but_ red, and not big enough to cause too much damage. But I don't want to leave you here to die… so… I'll be quick with this…"

Feeling sick, Hiccup knelt down, then raised the knife above the dog's heart. He didn't want to do this. But he had to… his father would finally respect him a little… Astrid would smile at him proudly… Snotlout would be one-upped by his little cousin… and the dog would be out of its misery. He had to this is. He _should_ do this… but… he just couldn't quite...

 _Dad would be able to. He's hunted before, killed deer, bears, and wolves for years, and he doesn't even flinch. It's just one dog… and you're doing it a favor… come on, Hiccup, come_ on… _make a decision now… hurry up, hurry up, we don't have all day..._

He squeezed his eyes shut. It'd be better to do this without looking at it… He raised the blade higher, sweat breaking through his forehead. _You can do this… you can_ do _this! Go! Just plunge down and get it over with… go on now! Kill it! Don't hesitate, you're life is going to get_ infinitely _better… your father will know you're not a liar… there are so many advantages!_

He tried again. No progress.

He peeked an eye open against his better will. The dog was staring at him with startlingly _green_ eyes. That surprised Hiccup. All the dogs he had seen had brown or black eyes. But this one… was different. Its eyes were… like his own. Green. Full of seriousness. Intelligent. After a long moment saturated with tensity, it gave sort of a moan of defeat, laying its head back down and preparing for the end. Hiccup grunted, trying to _force_ himself to go through with this. But all he could see were those green eyes… killing it would be like killing himself... he… he...

He sighed, lowering the knife.

He couldn't kill this creature.

Hiccup looked over the dog with great sadness. " _I_ did this," he spoke aloud, to both himself and the dog. "It's my fault… you're going to die because of _me_ … it's always _my_ fault… I'm sorry." Downcast, he stood and turned away to go. He couldn't kill the creature, he had to turn back now… But an idea suddenly grabbed him, and forced him to stop.

This dog would die without help… but Hiccup was here… and maybe he could help it…

Oh, why did he have to be so _soft_?

He knelt down again, this time near the dog's bloody tail. He winced at the injury, hoping that it wasn't infected. He wasn't quite sure how fast infections came into the wound. Luckily, the bleeding seemed to have clotted, and the blood he saw now was hardened. It clearly hadn't been recently bleeding. Maybe it hadn't been infected after all…

Almost working on autopilot, he tore a strip of cloth from his jeans (which were already torn, and therefore easier to pull off), then brought out the sanitizer from his jacket pocket; he whispered a murmur of gratefulness that he had brought it. In a way, hygiene had saved the day. He wet the cloth with the sanitizer, then made a move to clean the dog's tail. It growled and whimpered at the pain, but was too weak to protest much more than that.

Thankful that he wasn't going to be bit by a rabid dog right now, Hiccup continued working, cleaning out the wound, then tearing another strip of denim to wrap it. That way, it would protect the injury from any infection (though he was pretty sure the sanitizer would kill bacteria, as well) and clot the wound from producing any more blood. As for the other wounds on the dog… well, he didn't want to risk irritating the creature into snapping at him or something. He could explain his absence to camp, but not a contaminated dog-bite.

He had done as much as he could. He couldn't help but look over his shoulder from time to time, as if afraid of his father stomping up and bellowing at him. He winced, realizing by helping the dog live, Stoick would most likely never find out about what he had done. More disappointment. Oh joy.

Hiccup washed the blood off of his own hands off with the hand sanitizer, satisfied. "Well, your tail is bandaged, and that should help… er… I left your other wounds alone, but I don't think that they're mortal… so… yep, that's about it… oh, why am I talking to you. You can't understand me… but you're one of the only people that will actually listen without interrupting, though you don't understand a word I'm staying, most likely. Well, I've got to get back to camp, so b-"

As Hiccup had been talking, the dog had stirred from his sedative state. The boy should have been watching, for he might've noticed the way the creature had tensed like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse. But he hadn't been watching. And that was a grave mistake, for a moment later, the dog transitioned from his unconscious state and jumped onto Hiccup, shoving him to the ground beneath his paws.

Hiccup yelped at the turn of events, trying to get up, but the black dog had really pinned him down. Sure, if he wanted to, he could've escaped- but the dog was growling at him in a way that said, _You move, I bite._

Hiccup didn't move.

Trembling, Hiccup let out an unmanly whimper of fear. This is how he would go. Killed by a feral dog in the woods that he shouldn't have even have been in in the first place. Or worse yet- the dog would have rabies, infecting Hiccup in the process of biting him.

But the dog didn't bite him. No, not yet. Instead, it stared at Hiccup with its big green eyes, dangerously intelligent. It knew that it had the greater power in this situation. This boy was totally at its mercy. It growled menacingly, moving its muzzle closer, its stinky breath washing over Hiccup.

 _This is it_ , he thought, miserable. _I'm going to be killed…_ Defeated, Hiccup closed his eyes and flinched back. He didn't want to watch this.

He grew rigid, ready for the final bite.

But it never came.

Instead, the dog gave a mighty howl that shook Hiccup down to his very bones, then _leapt_ from Hiccup's chest and vanished into the woods, the only sign that it was ever there a few angry pawprints in the dirt.

Hiccup gasped for breath, hyperventilating. He had thought that he was going to die, for goodness' sake! But… but the dog was gone now, and he was still alive… breathing… unharmed for the most part… and… he couldn't believe it. He clutched at his chest, feeling his heart race so madly that it was painful. His hands wouldn't stop shaking, and he felt feverish.

After a panicked minute of ragged breathing, he managed to stagger to his feet. From there, he stumbled across the grass. He had to get back to camp, he knew, before someone realized he was gone. Still, his mind was racing, and heart fluttering at what he had just experienced… what had happened was stranger beyond words…

When he got to the Fence, he didn't stop. He climbed it slowly, jumped to the other side, then continued to walk towards camp. He could see it now, blissfully unaware of Hiccup's condition. A few minutes later, he returned to his cabin and collapsed on the bed where he laid awake the remaining fifteen minutes of sleep he was granted. Then, Gobber barged in, cheerily going on about what a great day they were all going to have. Hiccup, already dressed, waited quietly while his cabin mates got ready for the day. He didn't even have a comeback when Snotlout snickered, "Look at the attention-seeker now… guess your father really got to you last night, huh, _Hiccup_?"

Later on, when Stoick was saying his goodbyes to Hiccup before he left, the boy barely processed the talk. He was in shock, it seemed, and didn't quite process what was going on until he was waving his father goodbye. He had vague memories of Stoick chiding him about last night once again, then telling him to train hard and that he'd be back in about two months. Hiccup just nodded or shook his head. It worked for Stoick.

Hiccup swallowed thickly as he ran over this morning's events in his head. Stoick's car was disappearing from sight. He sighed, nervously running a hand through his hair.

Oh, boy, was this going to be an interesting summer...


	4. First Day

**Suggested story of the week: 'Boundless' by PsychicWonderKitty**

* * *

 **First Day**

* * *

Unlike Hiccup, Gobber was all too ready to start the first day of camp. Throughout all of breakfast in the Great Hall, he chattered on about what fun they would have when they ran into a coyote, or fell into a beehive. Slapping his knee, Gobber would chuckle, "Good times! Still, all those stings itch when it rains... only the left side, though." And then he'd start scratching his arm or other unnatractive parts of his body. Hiccup soon lost his appetite.

Finally, when the A-team was all done with breakfast, Gobber led them out of the Hall and to the forest. Spitelout would take care of the at-camp matters while Gobber was the main leader of the small group of Dragons. He would take charge in the more active activities. _Lucky us_ , Hiccup inwardly grumbled to himself.

"Alright, then!" said a grinning Gobber, rubbing his hands together as he stopped near the entrance of the forest. "Welcome, to Dragon Training, where I train yeh Dragons all about how to survive in the wild!"

Tuffnut swallowed. "And have actual _fun_ right? Or do I need to go to the Bouncy House across the street?"

Snotlout snickered, and the boys high-fived. Meanwhile, Astrid rolled her eyes, muttering, " _Boys…_ " Hiccup nodded along until he realized that what Astrid said also applied to him.

Hiccup glanced over his team-mates, then spotted Fishlegs. A tiny wriggle of hope caught him. Last night, before the dog and all and all the craziness, the creature had howled! Fishlegs had heard it, and knew Hiccup wasn't someone who went around shooting things in the middle of the night. Fishlegs could vouch for him to Gobber or his father that Hiccup had been trying to help.

A few elated seconds later, Hiccup came up to Fishlegs, who seemed strangely calm despite the fact that _Gobber_ of all people was leading them into a perpetually _dangerous_ forest.

"Hey, Fishlegs?" asked Hiccup, a little tentative, yet eager to ask his question.

Fishlegs glanced at Hiccup, then smiled, unnerving Hiccup. The husky boy had been hysterical last night… what had made him so tranquil now? "Oh, hey, Hiccup," he said, casually offering a wave.

Hiccup nodded in acknowledgement, despite the creeping feeling that something was off. "Yeah. Look, um- so do you remember anything about camp last night? A strange sound?"

Fishlegs shook his head. "No, I actually don't... for some reason, I was given some sort of- of _drink_ to calm me down last night. I don't know why, and no one will tell me." He shrugged. "Maybe I had a nightmare and they don't what me to remember it. But I'm fine now. It's actually nice not to feel so... so _tense_ , you know? I'm naturally an anxious person, so it's almost weird not to feel worried as much. But it's all cool now… though the nervousness is kind of coming back to me in little pinpricks… ah, well, it was bound to happen sometime."

Hiccup's heart sank as he realized the truth. Fishlegs had been put to sleep last night with something that had erased all memories for the past what... twelve hours? So that meant he didn't remember the howling last night... the creature… the _dog_. Hiccup shivered when he thought of the thing… its snarling, stinky muzzle hovering right over his face… its green eyes narrowed into enraged slits... brimming with such rage that it burned through Hiccup's mind… He didn't want to _ever_ have that happen again…

...but strangely, he _did_ want to see the dog another tim. He was curious... the one feeling he could not conquer. He could get past anger, frustration, sadness… but upon seeing something abnormal, he could not just forget it.

"Come on, Dragons, onward!" Gobber cried, marching into the forest. "We are Dragons, and… DRAGONS… ARE… FOREVER!"

Sighing, the campers repeated, "Dragons are forever...," in a much duller tone. They trudged after their counselor, who was resilient through all of their groans. As the group walked, Gobber began to point out different plants and trees.

"That one's a Ponderosa Pine, the main type of tree yeh'll get out here," said Gobber.

"Has an open nature," Fishlegs muttered, almost reciting it to himself, "found in all the mountain states."

Gobber flicked a finger towards another tree. "Douglas-fir..."

Fishlegs was ready, and fired. "Most abundant in the Northern Rocky Mountains..." Hiccup shot him a strange look, and the others smirked with derision.

"Red alder..."

"Colonizes disturbed by-"

" _Would yeh stop that_?" Gobber exasperated, at the end of his rope. Fishlegs shrunk in submission, muttering his consent. Gobber nodded, almost tenative that Fishlegs would start calling off names and information again. "And... Pacific dogwood."

Fishlegs leaned over to Hiccup, and out of the corner of his mouth, whispered, "Found in shady, low elevation sites." Hiccup merely blinked in response. Did Fishlegs think he cared about this stuff? Studying the boy, he decided not. Fishlegs just needed to tell _someone_ about what he had learned. Hiccup respected that.

Gobber began to sing as he walked, mostly old camp songs that didn't make much sense... "I've got my bow, and I've got my gun, and I've got my wife whose face makes people run, I'm a Dragon through and thrrrrrooouuugggghhhhh!"

Soon, they were pretty deep into the forest. They had passed the Fence awhile ago, and Hiccup was relieved it wasn't the same part of woods as it was when he had came in earlier than morning. That dog might still be around… and Hiccup really didn't want the others to see it. He didn't know why… but he just _didn't_. Maybe he was afraid that people would call him weak for saving the dog… maybe he just wanted to keep those moments to himself.

"Stop," Gobber suddenly said, pausing in his walk. The A-team obeyed and circled around him to listen to what the man had to say. "I hope," said Gobber, "that yeh've been paying attention during our walk."

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked, her brow furrowing. Hiccup had to agree with that... not just because Astrid was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen…

"Well..." Gobber smiled. "Yer first training exercise will be... navigation! I hope yeh have been paying attention during the walk, because yeh're going to hafta navigate yer way back teh camp... no maps, no compass, no nothing. Just yer good ol' noggin!" He rapped his forehead.

Snotlout gaped. "Wait, aren't you going to teach us first?"

Gobber shook his head cheerily. "I believe, in learning on the job..."

The campers immediately started to protest, ranging from, "My dad will hear about this!", "This is ridiculous!", and, "Oh my gosh oh my gosh we're gonna _die_!"

That was Fishlegs.

Gobber held up a hand to quiet them all down. "Now, settle down now, everyone... settle down… we're only a fifteen minute walk away. It's nothing! When _I_ was a Dragon, my camp leader took my team out two hours away! Yeh can do it... Oh, and one more thing..."

Hiccup sighed. "What?"

Gobber grinned. "Yeh only have about... _twenty-five_ minutes teh get back... or yeh fail the first day!" Before the campers could process that, he cried, "Start!"

Everyone at once began to complain again, but quickly realized it would do no good. Gobber was stubborn, and would not change his mind. And they were wasting time quarreling. They needed to plan… or they would fail…. and no one wanted to fail.

"Alright, everybody," Astrid called, "come here."

An elated Hiccup wandered over to Astrid, trying his best to stand near her. She looked mildly disgusted, but allowed him to stay. The others gathered around her within a matter of seconds, and soon they were all there. "Okay," said Astrid, "we need a plan. To get back, we need to all work together, because none of us have been trained in this yet. As much as I hate to admit it, I need most of you to get back."

She said the word 'most' while looking at Hiccup. He swallowed, then looked down with dejection.

"First off, we'll try and go back the direction we came," Astrid told them, her hands on her hips and looking like she bossed around them all every day. Hiccup remembered her at school, always taking over group projects and sports teams. "That's our best chance."

Snotlout smirked. "Of course it is, babe, you're always right..."

Astrid turned her head to send over a death glare. "Gee," she said sarcastically. "You sound like a greeting card." She then shoved him to the ground. " _Stop it._ Do you _want_ to be left behind?" she growled, crossing her arms to make herself look even _more_ intimidating- a truly impressive feat, as she was scary enough as it was.

Snotlout quickly shook his head, then stood up. "N-no…"

"Busted...," Ruffnut snickered, and even Tuffnut grinned. Fishlegs just stepped back, not wanting to be around when Astrid wasn't there to keep Snotlout in check.

"Follow me," Astrid ordered, waving her hands to the group, then marching off down the indistinct trail they had took before. Hiccup made a move to follow, but Snotlout suddenly grabbed his arm, holding it tight.

"I don't think so, _Hiccup_ ," he whispered. Gobber was too busy smiling after Astrid and the other three to notice. "Find your own way back... or else." His grip squeezed tighter on Hiccup's arm for emphasis, and the victim winced. That would certainly leave a bruise. "Am I clear?"

Hiccup suddenly jerked his leg out and kicked the other boy. "Crystal."

Snotlout gave a murderous glower, hiding a wince. He yanked Hiccup close and spoke quietly in the teen's ear. "You're gonna regret that, Useless. You'll see… when no one else is around… _I'll get you_."

"Wow," said Hiccup, feigning a feared look that was obviously fake. "I'm so scared."

After another glare, Snotlout released his cousin a moment later, then stalked after Astrid's disappearing figure. Hiccup was left alone, save Gobber.

His counselor turned to him in surprise. "Why don't yeh go with the others, Hiccup?"

Hiccup struggled for an excuse. "Me? Nah... I'm _waaayyyy_ too- too _intelligent_ to go with them. No... I think I know the way back myself, so... so I'm just going to go a different direction. Yeah."

Gobber squinted. "Uh-huh… listen, Hiccup… bit of encouragement..."

Hiccup crossed his arms, curious. All of Gobber's 'encouraging' advice wasn't very motivational. "...what?"

"Don't worry about any of the others," Gobber continued. "They'll see yeh as sick- or insane even- and go after the more Dragon-like campers. Yeh have nothing teh worry about!"

So he _had_ seen Snotlout threatening his cousin. And he wasn't… concerned at all? A bit hesitant at letting Hiccup roam camp alone? Hiccup sighed. "Thanks, Gobber."

"Anytime! Now, go on out there and, well... do what yeh do."

Smiling weakly, Hiccup backed away into the trees until he was out of sight. After a few moments of aimless walking, he sat down on a tree stump and rubbed his temples. "What am I gonna _do_?" he wondered aloud, sounding miserable. He couldn't do this. He never could. He'd always be the weakest... the worst at everything... useless... Hiccup the Useless... After a minute of self-pity, he sighed and stood up, the truth heavy on his shoulders. He had to get back to camp, or he would fail. Gobber had said. With a glance at his watch, he was told that he now only had twenty minutes left to get back. It was a fifteen minute walk... so only a five minute time period for error.

"You can do this, Hiccup," he said to himself. "You can _do_ this. You are a _Dragon._ I am a _Dragon_!"

Determined, he turned on his foot and began to walk. He could hear the other campers' fading chatter, so he went that way. If Snotlout couldn't _see_ him following the group, then he'd be fine. Until Snotlout cornered him, that was… which was yet another thing he had to warn himself of.

He was suddenly struck with a delightful idea.

What if... what if he got back _before_ the others? What if Astrid emerged from the trees only to find Hiccup casually leaning against a cabin, twirling a flower... and he would lean in, hand her the blossom and say, "For _you_ , milady..." And Astrid would swoon into his arms while Snotlout realized that Astrid despised him, yet loved his cousin, and be happy for them. Fishlegs would grin and congratulate the pair's new relationship, and the twins would bonk heads in celebration... yes, that was right.

He smiled dopily, so lost in his fantasy that he wasn't looking where he was going. Hmm... but where would he get the flower? Were there any around here? Or maybe he didn't need a _flower_... perhaps some chocolate. Girls liked chocolate, right? Or was it poems? Maybe a nice haiku would-

"AHH!"

Hiccup stumbled over a root as he walked, not having seen it before. His left knee slammed into the ground _hard_ , and he tumbled down to his stomach. He groaned in pain, inwardly cursing his foul luck.

" _Hiccup_?" said Gobber's voice from somewhere behind him, sounding fretful. "Hiccup!"

Moaning, Hiccup pushed himself to a sitting position, his legs out at awkward angles. "Here, Gobber..."

The trees rustled from a few yards away, and his counselor materialized from them. He looked concerned as he came over, then realized when he saw that Hiccup had simply taken a tumble. "I heard yeh yell, and was afraid some bear had seen yeh."

"No, I just- wait, hold-up! There are _bears_ here? Why were we not told about this?"

Gobber seemed not to hear him. "But no, yeh just tripped over a root, that's right... look, Hiccup…"

The camper sighed. "What?"

Gobber continued, "Hiccup, out here, yeh have teh pay attention... We aren't in Girl Scout territory, we're in the wild. Things… things can easily happen without anybody hearing about it for a long while. Yeh can't go dilly-dallying in the forest, chasing butterflies. Rules are made fer a reason. Do yeh understand me, Hiccup?" His eyes were wide, almost panicked. Hiccup was confused. Why was he so worried about these woods?

"I do," said Hiccup. "But what's the problem?" He momentarily thought of the Red Death, but quickly brushed that suspicion off. The frightful creature didn't come out during the daytime... right?

"What? Nothing!" Gobber scoffed. "But be careful, Hiccup..." He then muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Don't need another vanished camper..." His gaze snapped back to Hiccup. "Promise me that yeh'll be on high alert from now on if yeh're in the woods alone like this."

Hiccup nodded. "I promise, Gobber… but why? What exactly are you so afraid of?"

For once, Gobber averted his eyes, his figure drooping. "There are some things," he said, his soft voice surprising Hiccup, "out there… some things that… that if a camper was injured by it, that could endanger the entire camp."

Hiccup frowned, not quite understanding. He had a million questions, but only one came out… "You said 'it'."

"What?"

"You said 'it'," Hiccup repeated. "You said 'some things,' but then you said 'it.' It's not a bunch of things, it's just one, right?" A trickle of fear ran down his spine. "Gobber… It's not… it's not the-"

"No!" said Gobber hurriedly. "Not… what yeh're thinking of… heheh, Hiccup, yeh know, that big brain of yers is bound teh get you into trouble sometime or another…" He chuckled, a little nervous in his manner. Then he cleared his throat and tried to change the subject, "Anyways, yeh weren't even supposed to be out here alone. Most every year, my campers all join together- cute, really- and go back the way they came. They get lost nearly every time, of course, but at least they're together... and that means they're safe. I don't know what possessed yeh to go alone."

 _Snotlout did_ , Hiccup thought with a scowl, then winced as his knee shot up a jolt pain.

"Yeh alright?" asked Gobber, offering a hand to the camper.

Hiccup took it, and Gobber pulled him to his wobbly feet. He grimaced again when his leg felt the pressure of the ground. "Yeah," he said through a clenched smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Gobber cocked his head. "Yeh're a terrible liar."

"Well… so are you…," Hiccup tried to retort, but upon a dubious look from Gobber, he sighed. "I know, I know... Look, I just bruised my knee when I fell, I think. Nothing too bad."

Gobber studied him, then decided the boy wasn't lying. "Well, we'll let our camp doctor, Gothi, take a look at yeh when we get to camp. I'll lead the way… and what with the BB gun incident last night, and all, yeh don't have to do the exercise today. I think yeh've had enough adventure in the past twenty-four hours..."

 _Ohhhh, thank goodness_ , thought Hiccup as they trudged through the woods, Gobber slightly helping him walk. He had escaped today's torment. Of course, the price was a badly bruised knee, but it seemed like a fair trade to him. It was better than getting lost in a wild forest that went on for goodness knew how long.

About ten minutes later, the pair reached the Fence. Gobber unlatched the gate to let them through, and Hiccup took that into mind for future visits beyond the barrier. He couldn't climb over it _every_ time he decided to sneak out. Which, he figured, would be a lot.

The other five minutes, they could see the edges of camp come clearer and clearer. They soon arrived at the "Healer's Hut" where Hiccup was told to sit on a table while Gothi checked his knee out. It had an ugly purple bruise blooming already, not making Hiccup feel any better. Gothi gave him an ice pack for the injury, but it still throbbed heavily.

The other campers had actually arrived a mere few minutes after Hiccup and Gobber did, saving the counselor the trouble of going back to look for them. Because of that, Gobber stayed with Hiccup, chatting merrily to Gothi like nothing was the matter. The other campers were sent to Arts and Crafts for a bit, and would later get a tour of camp.

Gothi didn't speak during the treatment, which unnerved Hiccup. He eventually whispered to Gobber, "Why- why doesn't she speak?"

Gobber answered, "She can't. Poor old thing went through a tragic period of like when she was little, and now she's a mute."

Gothi suddenly turned to Gobber and flashed a series of curious hand motions at him. At first, Hiccup thought it was offensive, until Gobber told him that it was sign language. She had said that Hiccup would be fine as long as he took it easy. Also (according to Gobber) she had said, "Even on the first day, these children manage to get themselves hurt!" Well, it was more like, "First day. Children. Get. Hurt." Gobber frequently had to piece it together, though he often misunderstood, earning a whack from Gothi's walking stick.

As Gobber and Gothi 'talked,' Hiccup looked around the room. It was mostly bare, except for a sign on the wall that read, "Sometimes, what you need is right here in front of you." Hiccup almost scoffed. The phrase was so… so cliché now. Underneath the sign was a framed picture of a bunch of hound dogs that Hiccup couldn't quite stop looking at. He still hadn't gotten over the shock of earlier this morning with the black dog in the woods… maybe Gothi knew something about dogs that would tell him why one from earlier hadn't bitten him.

"Well," Gobber suddenly said, turning to Hiccup. "I think it's time we go. Gothi has a lot of patients, see. Kids always manage to get into scrapes in the first few days..." He patted Hiccup's shoulder so hard that the victim believed that made bruise number three (Snotlout's, the root's, and now Gobber's... no, Hiccup wasn't counting… the pain was a reminder itself). "Just remember, Hiccup," he began, then leaned in. "Nature will always... always..."

He lowered his voice, sounding dangerous.

"Go for the _kill_..."

* * *

"...so, why didn't you?" Hiccup wondered. He was kneeling down in the spot in the woods that he had been in earlier. Flecks of blood and fur still lay about from the dog. After being released from Gothi's care, he was told to just take it easy the rest of the day. He could go to Arts and Crafts, or work on making traps... but he had chosen to go out in the woods again. The campers were allowed to, as long as they stayed inside of the Fence. Of course, he had broken that one rule now without a second thought. Ha. And he didn't even feel guilty.

He thought about his question again. Why _hadn't_ the dog bit him? It was wild. It was hurt and feeling threatened. It would make absolute and perfect sense for it to attack.

But it hadn't.

So... _why_? What has convinced the dog not to, and to just run off? What force of nature had changed any wild animal's instinct? It… it didn't make sense… And Hiccup didn't like that. He liked things that seemed possible, as he was more a an of science than anything. He still had his fantasies, yet he felt grounded enough.

He didn't quite know why he was so concerned. Most people would just be happy that they were still alive and unbitten. But, no, Hiccup had always been... _different._ He couldn't stop thinking about the encounter with the dog in the woods. He just… he _needed_ to see that dog again. To answer all of those questions he couldn't stop pondering. Curiosity would not let him rest until then.

Suddenly, Hiccup heard a crashing somewhere ahead of him. He looked up to see... nothing but lots and lots of trees. He cocked his head, then pushed himself to his feet, wincing as his bruised knee was strained. But he continued wandering on, curious. What had made that sound? Soon, he reached the edge of some cliff... no, not quite a cliff... a hill. He looked down in it, seeing that there was actually a cove below, a large lake engulfing most of the area, including right underneath the ledge he was standing on. Huh. He didn't know that there were any-

" _RHHHHHHAAAAAAWWWWWFFFFFFFF!_ " Hiccup heard a long, mournful _bark_. Surprised, he jumped back. The cry had come from inside of the cove. He crouched down to be out of sight, pretty sure that he knew what was in there, then actually looked around for it.

His breath caught when he saw… _it._

The black dog from before was trying to scramble up some rocks to get out of the cove, but it was always a few feet too short. Hiccup realized that after it ran away from him earlier this morning, it must've fallen down here and wasn't able to get out… His thoughts mused with ideas of how to get the dog out, but he quickly silenced them. He shouldn't _help_ this dog. It was wild. And hadn't he already done enough with the bandage…?

After another try, the dog gave up and walked away over to the lake. It stared hungrily at the water, then suddenly lunged its head down and snapped around. It was looking for something to eat, Hiccup knew. After a few seconds, it pulled its head from the water, then prowled away. Hiccup noticed that its tail still had the makeshift bandage wrapped around it, and was glad that his wrap had held. He had been afraid that being the wild animal it was, the creature might've torn it off. But no, it held strong, and didn't appear to have bled through… also good. The dog then curled up near some rocks and set his head down with a whine, defeated. It couldn't get food because it was trapped in the cove, and it was too difficult to catch fish alone. It would die here, slowly starving to death, or killed off by something that could get in and out of its prison.

Hiccup settled down to a more comfortable sitting position, then pulled out his notebook from his pocket. He had shed his jacket in the summer heat, but the notebook was small enough to fit in his jeans' open pouches. He also drew a tiny pencil from his other pocket, then sat back and studied the dog. By nature, Hiccup wanted to remember interesting things so he'd never forget them, so he always kept a pencil and some paper nearby to keep their memories. This... this dog was _beyond_ interesting. He wanted to record what this thing looked like, and other attributes... maybe figure out what breed it was, which might why it hadn't bitten him… if it was a docile breeds of dog, that would sort of make sense.

He sketched quickly, as he was used to having to be fast with this. Soon, he had a rough sketch of the creature that satisfied him. He looked it over, then at the actual dog for any mistakes. He noticed one, and quickly erased it. There… Now the dog only had half a tail. He couldn't help but feel slightly ashamed, as the wound was his fault in the first place.

As he was studying the drawing, his grip relaxed on his pencil, and it fell down from his hand into the cove. Hiccup desperately scrambled to grab it, but it was too late. A few seconds later, the pencil hit the water below, making a splash and sending ripples flowing out.

The dog's head snapped up, staring right up to Hiccup. Green eyes met an equally emerald gaze. Hiccup winced, shrinking back. He expected the dog to bark at him, howl with rage... but no. It just laid there. The dog simply looked at him.

It _looked_ at _him_...

Not at the scrawny brunette teenager, but the creative spirit inside of Hiccup. Who he truly was, deep within. Hiccup felt a ripple of his hidden self, as well, startling him… And he could see the dog, too. A lonesome hunter that prowled the forest by moonlight, living under the law of nature. Nothing would tame it. Yet… there was something compassionate inside of it. A spot of light. Hope. Love. Warmth. These this would all show, Hiccup somehow knew, if someone showed these to the dog. Oh my… this bond… it was strong… almost freaky… Hiccup was getting unnerved by this. But he was speechless. He… couldn't… move...

His throat at last allowed him to release a gasp, breaking the moment. Yet the dog continued to watch him… watch him with its unblinking stare…

* * *

 **I'm having a pretty tough week with sickness and other things I'd rather not mention, so some nice reviews would be great. :-) Thanks for reading, guys, you always make me smile... see ya next Friday, and I hope you're still enjoying this.**


	5. Toothless

**Suggested story of the week: 'Flightmare Freeze' by SunshineGirl14**

* * *

 **Toothless**

* * *

A few days passed with no particular significance...

...well, of course... save yesterday morning at 6 AM when Ruffnut and Tuffnut somehow were able to take control of the speakers to camp, waking everyone up with, " _Good morning, Camp Dragons! It's Tuff-_ and Ruff _\- and_ insanity _\- in the mornings!_ " and a dismal weather forecast.

That was a rude awakening to everyone at camp. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were punished by being assigned dish duty for the rest of the week, though they broke more plates during that sentence than they washed.

Other than that incident, Gobber would train with the A-team for a couple of hours each morning, then trudge back to camp saturated with exhaustion and ready to drop. When they arrivied, they would gobble up lunch, soon moving on to arts and crafts. The rest of the afternoon, they could play games, such as tetherball, tennis, soccer, and other activities. A lot of campers played them, and had a great time. Hiccup tried to join in, he really did… but he was usually out before he even started, so he just decided to stay in his cabin and write in his notebook.

There was also the looming threat of Snotlout's promise- the one that said that he would get his cousin. Hiccup didn't fancy getting beat up anytime soon, so he stayed within sights of the counsellors or a tough camper. Snotlout hadn't tried anything yet, but it was only a matter of time... so Hiccup quietly hid away in the Blacksmiths' Cabin.

Well… most of the time. At the moment, however, he was deep in the forest, entering a cove of some sort. The same cove he had last seen that strange dog in. He wore a small backpack that carried a pocket knife, a rubber ball he had found in Arts and Crafts, and some leftover cafeteria food. That dog had looked hungry before- since it was captive in this cove, it was probably starving by now. And dogs liked to play with balls… right? He'd seen some dogs on TV before chewing on balls and bones and looking happy. He hoped that this wild one might be the same.

He entered the cove by making his way down a pile of rocks, tense and nervous at the memory of the dog pouncing on him just a few days before… would that happen again? And would he be as lucky, and escape? He swallowed as he jumped down from the stones and fully came inside the rocky prison.

"Here, doggy doggy dog," he whispered, walking around. He reached around and took out the food from his backpack- the treat a nice juicy piece of chicken wrapped in some paper towels. He unwrapped the meat so the smell would waft to wherever the dog was hiding. Or was it still even here? Had it managed to escape? Or had it already… had it already…

 _No, Hiccup_ , the brunette chided himself. _The dog's still alive… he's a fighter… he's still here somewhere, I can feel it…_ He didn't know exactly _how_ he felt it, but he did. Somewhere in this cove, the dog was hiding. Waiting. Watching… watching _him_ …

Hiccup gulped, unnerved. _It could be anywhere… waiting to_ pounce _on you… come on, Hiccup, this is dangerous… maybe you should just leave… no harm done… you can still make it, you have time..._

Yet another, stronger part of him refused that temptation. _No. That dog is hurt because of you. His death is on your hands if you just let him starve to death. What if that tail is infected? A painful death, for sure. Do you really want that to be on your head? You might look back, years later, and wish that you_ had _saved that dog..._

Hiccup rubbed his temples with his free hand, already getting a headache from his conflicting thoughts. That more strong-willed part of him was right. He couldn't let a creature die just because he had done something stupid. It wasn't right. So he had to _make_ it right. He'd just feed the dog, and maybe try to help it escape… it could probably take care of itself from there… right…?

"Dog?" he called, turning around and holding the chicken up. "Dog? I'm not here to hurt you. J-just want to help. I brought you some food, see? Come on out, dog… it's okay… it's okay… are you even in here?" He sighed. "Look, dog, I want to help you… you just have to show yourself, huh?"

When the black dog didn't appear, Hiccup sat down on a nearby boulder in defeat. "Maybe you're not even here anymore," he said aloud to himself. "Maybe I'm here for nothing. Maybe I'm breaking the rules by going beyond the Fence- for nothing."

There was still nothing.

"Oh come on," said Hiccup, groaning. "I just want to-"

He was cut off by a series of low growls.

Hiccup jumped to his feet and swiveled around, looking for the source of the threat. He detected it soon enough. There sat the dog atop one of the rocky ledges of the cove. It had managed to get that far, but not any higher. It must've jumped a few rocks in order to get even that high. And if was strong enough, it probably could've made it even further- perhaps out of the cove. But it clearly hadn't eaten for awhile, and was too weak to make the effort.

"Hi, dog," breathed Hiccup, as still as a statue.

The dog raised its nose and sniffed, smelling the chicken. Its eyes found the meat and slivered into hungry slits. Without thinking, it jumped down from its perch, bouncing on rocks in order to reach the ground. It crept closer, eyes stuck on the food. It had lost a lot of weight since the last time Hiccup had seen it. Its ribcage could now be seen if the dog shifted at the right moment, and its eyes were hollow. The caked dirt on its fur, though, had mostly been washed off- probably from jupping in the lake water-, revealing a handsome and furry black coat. Also, with its new cleansliness, Hiccup could identify it as one of those police dogs- a German Shepherd.

"Heeeyyyyyyyy, buddy," said Hiccup softly. He held out the chicken to the dog. "You want it? You can have it if you want. You just have to come and get it." He shook it a little, trying to make it seem more appealing.

Still, the dog was wary. Its eyes cut to Hiccup's face, staring at him for a good long while. They were full of suspicion- though curiosity. It probably hadn't seen a human up close before (save the time when Hiccup first saved it), but could guess they they could be dangerous. And from being a lone dog in the wild for years had probably taught it to trust no one.

"It's okay," Hiccup assured, holding the piece of chicken out closer. The dog inched nearer against its own will, stretching out only its head and trying to keep the rest of its body as far away from Hiccup as possible. It was a funny sight, though Hiccup was only focusing on trying to get the dog to eat the meat.

The dog opened its mouth hungrily as it got closer. Hiccup was surprised to see that the animal was missing some teeth. "Toothless," he said in amazement, "but then how can you-"

Before he could finish his question, the dog lunged forward and yanked the meat away from him, gobbling it up till there was no trace that it was ever there. Missing a few teeth clearly didn't bother it. Hiccup flinched back, stunned. After the dog- who Hiccup was now calling "Toothless" in his head, and also decided that it was a boy- was finished licking his chops, his eyes caught on Hiccup again. They were narrowed slightly.

Hiccup swallowed and stumbled back as the dog crept forward towards him. He eventually had to stop when he was backed up against a boulder. He slid down it, trying to pull away even further, but only succeeded in making himself look smaller than he already was- a very probable prey to the predator. The brunette cursed himself for not running when he had the chance. Now he was cornered with a starving dog who would most likely do anything for more food.

The dog, Toothless now, was so close that Hiccup could reach out and touch him. But the teen did not, fearing that he'd be bitten. Toothless stared expectantly down at him, waiting for something...

"Um-" Hiccup whispered. "...I don't have anymore..."

Still, Toothless kept on looking at him. Hiccup's mind raced. He didn't have anymore food… what else did he have that could satisfy the dog? He thought about it. He had his backpack, a pocket-knife, and-

 _A rubber ball._

Quickly, Hiccup took off his bag, unzipped it, and drew out the ball. It was a plain red, but bouncy. Toothless's eyes caught on it curiously. Hiccup moved his hand around, and Toothless's gaze still followed. Hiccup paused for a second, then hurled the toy far away from him.

Toothless scrambled after it, tripping over his own feet to try and reach it. Hiccup was going to use that valuable time to escape, but was too stunned at Toothless's reaction to move. Soon, the black dog reached the ball and grabbed it with his mouth. Still hungry, he tried to chew it, but was obviously disgusted with the taste. Red flecks of the ball fell from his mouth as he bounded back over to Hiccup with the toy still in his mouth.

Hiccup looked up at the Shepherd, who was now looming over him. Toothless dropped the ball onto Hiccup's lap, then sat down and studied him. Hiccup looked down at the ball, then back at Toothless, his brow furrowing in bewilderment. Toothless cocked his head at him, seeming almost human-like in that moment.

"You- you want me to throw the ball again?" Hiccup asked, cautiously picking up the toy. It was covered in dog saliva that made him shudder, repulsed.

Toothless shifted on his feet, his tail thumping for a beat of a moment.

Hiccup raised the ball. "Er- alright…" He tossed the ball away from him again, this time tossing it a bit further than the last. Toothless sprang right after it, chasing it down, and his now-short tail a flurry of excitement.

Hiccup nearly laughed at the scene. "I'm playing fetch," he muttered, "with a wild dog." He smiled, almost madly. "Perfect. _Perfect_."

A moment later, Toothless returned with the rubber ball and dropped it in Hiccup's lap once more. Hiccup picked up the sticky toy, but didn't want to throw it again. Instead, he looked at Toothless, who was eying the ball with greed. Hiccup wondered where he'd acquired the knowledge to fetch, or if he was just learning on the spot.

"You want the ball?" Hiccup teased, waving the trinket around. Toothless's eyes followed after it. "Well, then, we'll make a trade… can I just…" He reached out tentatively to touch the dog, but Toothless recoiled back a second later, snapping at him. Hiccup drew his hand away, not wanting to get bitten. "Sorry," he murmured.

But Toothless had already scrambled away.

* * *

Another familiar day passed.

Gobber had taken his campers hunting this time- a recipe for disaster. Snotlout had relentlessly teased Hiccup about 'the BB gun incident', asking Gobber, "Well, Hiccup already shot the _Red Death_ , so does that disqualify him, or…?"

Ruffnut and Tuffnut had snickered while Snotlout smirked in glorious triumph. Hiccup shrunk back, playing with his fingers. Fishlegs just cast a nervous glance at his friend. He would hang out with Hiccup sometimes during meals, and in the cabin, but would never go as far as defending the brunette.

Astrid continued to look annoyed with the world. She wasn't quite _rude_ to Hiccup, she just... ignored him. Like most girls did. The only reason she spoke to Snotlout was to yell at him for hitting on her. Hiccup never did that- and he never would- so Astrid clearly saw no reason to interact, to Hiccup's dismay.

So when training ended and the campers were allowed to roam free around camp, Hiccup immediately vanished into the forest hiked down to the cove. It wasn't too hard to find, and he was there within ten minutes. Each time he went beyond the Fence, though, he felt a pang of guilt. He was breaking the rules- _yet_ again.

He made his way down the rocks and onto the grass. The lake shimmered beautifully in the sunlight, and the grass rippled in the slight breeze. For a moment, Hiccup closed his eyes, breathing in the serenity that was so hard to find nowadays. He wished he could just stand here forever...

" _Rwff_ ," something barked behind him. Hiccup whirled around on his foot to find Toothless standing behind him, still cautious, though friendlier than yesterday.

"Hey, Toothless," Hiccup greeted with a wavery smile. It was a bit unnerving to think that this dog could jump on him and pin him down in seconds if he wished to do so. Toothless growled a hello, but stayed where he was. "Whatcha up to today?"

Instead of answering, Toothless stalked away, already bored with Hiccup. He went near the edge of the cove and curled up in a neat ball. Hiccup wondered if he had slept last night. From the way his exhaustion was showing, probably not.

Hiccup crept over to the German Shepherd's body and sat down near him. He reached out a hand shakily, wanting to touch the dog, but Toothless's tail flicked away from his eyes to see what had made the sound. His green orbs narrowed with irritation when he saw Hiccup sitting there.

Hiccup gave a short wave, but Toothless was already getting up to leave. Not wanting to seem too insistent, Hiccup pushed himself to his feet and walked away. Toothless clearly didn't want to be touched. Sighing, Hiccup dropped a nice slab of hamburger meat on the ground, then crawled out of the cove. He'd come back tomorrow… and tomorrow... tomorrow would be different, for sure…

* * *

Hiccup returned the next day, but this time, early evening at around five. Dinner would be served in an hour and a half, but Hiccup figured that he could make it back in time. He just wanted to see Toothless again. Perhaps touch him, gain his trust… He didn't quite know _why_ he wanted the dog's alliance, but it was a need that could not be ignored.

When he entered this, Toothless appeared within seconds- he was warming up to Hiccup's visits. Hiccup smiled down at the dog. "Hi, bud, good to see you again."

Toothless scratched at the dirt, cocking his head. Even though he was a dog, Hiccup saw this strange, intelligent light in his eyes that suggested that Toothless understood everything that Hiccup was saying and doing. The brunette swallowed. "Are you hungry?" he inquired in an encouraging voice.

The German Shepherd gave a bark in reply, then sat down, waiting for his daily meal. Hiccup unzipped his backpack and retrieved a small bag of mini-hotdogs. It was all too easy to steal food from the cafeteria. There was so much of it that it didn't really make a difference if one or two things were gone. And even if someone noticed that some of it had disappeared, it could be blamed on raccoons or another wild creature known for stealing food.

Opening the bag, Hiccup tossed a hotdog to Toothless, who caught it with a mere raise of his head. He gobbled it up and licked his lips to show that he was ready for more. Hiccup threw one more hotdog to him (which was chewed up in a matter of seconds), then held the second-to-last one out for Toothless to take himself.

The dog was a little less cautious than last time about getting close, and he soon leaned forward and tugged his treat from Hiccup's grip. During that time, Hiccup reached a palm out, wanting to touch Toothless; Toothless snarled at him, so he withdrew his hand.

Toothless accepted the last hotdog, then went back into his corner and tried to jump out of the cove again. Hiccup was pleased to see that his stomach now dipped down with added weight, and he could almost no longer see the dog's ribcage. He was gaining back some vital pounds. That was good. In order to escape, he'd have to have some energy.

Hiccup felt a strange pang of melancholy when he thought of coming here to no longer see Toothless wandering around, sniffing, barking, and just _staring_ at Hiccup in silence… but helping him escape this prison was the right thing to do. He had to do it, no matter what lingering feelings he had.

Hiccup, being the stubborn boy he was, followed Toothless over to his spot. Toothless gave one final attempt to propel himself out of the cove, but when he failed, he sighed and gave up.

"Tough day?" Hiccup asked, plopping down on a rock.

Toothless grumbled, pacing the grass. _Very_ , his tight form seemed to say. Well, at least he wasn't running.

Hiccup nodded in an understanding manner. "I feel ya. Mine was pretty rotten, too. We had to go _ziplining._ And guess what? There was no break. We just had to keep on flying until we hit a tree. Had to stick out our legs first so we wouldn't slam into the wood, and then drop down from five feet to get off the thing." He shook his head. "The things that my counselor, Gobber does… they can't be legal."

Toothless snorted.

"Yeah, you're right," Hiccup replied. "They _are_ illegal. I wonder if any of the other campers are going to complain to anybody… hmm… well, there's Fishlegs, who _might_ , though he's sort of socially anxious and doesn't like to tell people his problems… Snotlout… he's my cousin, and sort of a jerk. I don't think he would tell- his claims make him sound too tough. Tuffnut… he's a bit…" He made a swirling motion over his head. "... _interesting,_ and he actually _likes_ being in mortal danger. His twin sister, Ruffnut- though she's smarter than him- is the same way. And then…" He blew out a breath, his voice taking on a dreamy tone.. "... _Astrid_."

There were those fireworks again.

Toothless cast a sideways glance at the brunette, as if, _Do you…_ like _her?_

"I've crushed on her since elementary school," Hiccup admitted. "She's wonderful… brave… strong… smart… not to mention, _beautiful_. Azure eyes, golden blonde hair, and just this… this aura of strength and confidence I wish I had… she's quite admirable…"

The black dog gave a huff. He was now only a few feet away from Hiccup, sitting down and almost _listening_ to Hiccup's story.

"The things is, though… she doesn't give me the time of day. All she wants to do is fight… I want peace… she's super strong… I'm… well, look at me!" He held up one of his arms. "Noodle-arms. Legs not much thicker. People call me the _Talking Fishbone_ , for Pete's sake! Anyways… Astrid talks to Snotlout occasionally, but that's really only to tell him off for trying to flirt with her. Oh, and Ruffnut, since she's the only other girl on our team, and I guess girls like to talk to each other…" Hiccup become self-conscious of going on a rant to a dog. "Oh, why am I even talking… you can't even understand me…"

But as he looked into Toothless's green gaze, he saw that spark of cleverness in the dog's eyes.

Hiccup reached out, trying to touch Toothless again, but Toothless's face scrunched up into a growl and he scurried away to go somewhere else.

Hiccup sighed. "I don't want to hurt you, bud," he said. However, Toothless was out of earshot and probably wouldn't even had reacted, anyways.

A moment later, Hiccup trailed after Toothless once more. He was shunned off a third time, then a fourth at another attempt. Toothless would simply not allow any physical contact, despite whatever Hiccup did.

Hiccup eventually gave up and went to sit near the lake. He found the boulder he had been backed into a few days ago and sat down on it. He watched the water for a short time, taking in each ripple, each twinkle, and each splash. The sun gave off a golden orange and yellow glow as it sank, lighting up the water. The occasional fish leapt from its watery home to snatch a fly or another insect. Evening was coming, and the fish were ready to eat. Speaking of eating… Hiccup glanced down at his watch. _5:43 PM_ the clock read. He blew out a breath of relief. He wouldn't have to go back to camp for dinner. Yet.

Soon, Hiccup grew tired of staring at the lake, so he bent down and looked around for a stick. Once he found a sutiable one, he leaned over slightly and started to sketch some things in the dirt. At first, the doodles were just meaningless squiggles. Lines, circles, people... But soon, Hiccup wiped the mess away with his foot, revealing a clean drawing board. With a new carefulness, he scratched the twig in the dust, making tender strokes. He was drawing Toothless. His long face, tall, prickly ears, and his furry black coat… it was all coming together.

Just as he started working on the face, he heard something pad up behind him. Tensing, he realized it was Toothless, who was just… watching him. Not wanting to disturb the dog, Hiccup continued on with his picture. Toothless still didn't leave, to the brunette's pleasure. Hiccup smiled, just enjoying his new friend's presence. A comforting silence lay between them. It was quite-

 _THUMP!_

Toothless leapt up from being the boulder and onto Hiccup's picture. Hiccup exclaimed in surprise. Toothless gave a naughty grin, then snapped his head forward and abducted Hiccup's drawing stick.

"Hey!" Hiccup shouted as Toothless ran off with it. "Toothless, no! I was using that!"

Toothless stopped running for a second to turn back and look at Hiccup. He gave a muffled _yip_ , then resumed his flight. Hiccup set his jaw in playful annoyment, though he was secretly feeling thrilled. "Oh, I'm gonna get you…" He jumped to his feet and darted after Toothless.

The dog was having all too much fun with this. He would stop and look back at Hiccup, wagging the stick teasingly, and a moment later, fleeing the site. Hiccup, who usually wasn't fit for all of this running, was enjoying this so much to notice the heaving of his chest or the ways his knees burned.

"Tooooootthhhllleesssssss!" he called. "You'd better watch out! I'm coming for ya!"

What remained of Toothless's tail wagged back and forth so fast it was a blur. He jumped smoothly by Hiccup, avoiding capture yet again. Hiccup let out a cry of frustration, then sprinted after him. But Toothless had years of experience running from large predators, and could easily wiggle out of these tight spots. In fact, he seemed to be relishing this.

"ARGHHHHHHH!" Hiccup hollered, almost tripping over his feet as he lunged forward at Toothless's escaping figure. "TOOTHLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS!"

Toothless grinned again, prancing up and down in a deer-like manner. He was taunting Hiccup- he knew that a boy of Hiccup's small size and skill could never catch him- well, without Toothless giving himself up voluntarily.

Bending over with heavy panting, Hiccup braced himself to run again. "You're… gonna pay… Toothless… messing with all of this… raw… awesomeness… there will be consequences!"

 _I'll take my chances_ , Toothless's flat expression clearly said. He turned to go sprinting away...

...but then he did something very surprising.

He walked over to Hiccup- he didn't try to barrel off. He simply padded up to the brunette and stared into the neat matching set of green eyes that the boy had.

He dropped the stick.

No… he didn't just _drop_ it. He set it down in front of Hiccup, almost like an offering of trust. Then he plopped himself down into a sitting position… and he waited.

Steadying his breath, Hiccup gaped in surprise. "This… this is for me…?"

Toothless rumbled a gentle agreement.

Hiccup glanced at the twig, then back at Toothless. "Th-thanks." But he didn't reach down to take the prize. Instead, he met Toothless's gaze, somehow understanding what Toothless was allowing him to do.

Hiccup bit his lip as he stretched out a hand to touch Toothless's muzzle. Toothless flinched back, not accepting his hand. Hiccup's heart fluttered. _Please please please…_ He tried again, and was met with the same response.

The third try, he gave a sigh of defeat and averted his eyes away. He kept his hand out, though, as he thought, _Why'd I ever think that I could get a least_ some _acceptance? Even a dog won't let me touch him. I'll always be alone…_ that _kid in the background… weak… small… lonely…_ His shoulders sagged, submitting himself to whatever would come. _So lonely..._

A soft pressure pushed itself into his outstretched palm, feeling so comforting that Hiccup leaned into it, biting back tears. This feeling… it was saying many things, but the first and foremost assurance was that everything would be alright in the end. That no one was alone. He had somebody… he had…

Toothless.

His eyes flashed open as he realized what the pressure was. Toothless had at last allowed himself to be touched. Hiccup tenderly scratched the dog's ears, feeling his tangled fur brush into his hand. Toothless snorted, then pulled back. His eyes regarded Hiccup with a furrowed brow and a sniff.

Hiccup leaned forward to touch him again, but Toothless was gone in a flash. Hiccup watched him go in wonder, his palm still tingling.

 _I've got a friend now_ , he suddenly thought. _I've got…_

 _Toothless._

A smile broke across his face. Elation filled his chest, and he no longer felt his previous sadness. Instead, an indescribable happiness he had only felt a few times in his life. He felt… he felt like he _belonged_. A sensation he had never quite grasped before.

 _I'm not alone anymore._

Yes. And just like that feeling had told him before… everything would turn out alright.

* * *

 _Tonight was a glorious evening._

 _However, it didn't care._

 _It was too busy… too busy sniffing from the ledge it stood on… it thought it smelled prey… no, not exactly… it smelled- what was it-_ opportunity…

 _Its ears perked up as it detected something from its perch. It scanned the trees below, licking its chops greedily. It didn't exactly know what it smelled- it had always relied on its sight and hearing anyways- but this feeling was different. It somehow knew that soon, it would have prey… and that was good. Very good. It was hungry- quite hungry- and needed a good meal. Something it hadn't had in a long time._

 _It hissed as it paced the ledge it was standing on. The burning ball of sun was falling now, and it would soon be night. Its tail swished in familiar, repulsing excitement. Night was perfect. Night was its unfailing ally. Night was a cloak that helped it survive._

 _Its tail swished happily as it leapt down from the rocks. It let out a yowl- an ear-piercing scream that all other creatures feared. Grinning, it sprang into the forest._

 _It was time to hunt._


	6. Secrets

**Suggested story of the week: 'Right here waiting for you' by TheLastInspiritDragonRider**

* * *

 **Secrets**

* * *

The Great Hall was bursting with small talk and laughter as the campers all ate.

It had been a difficult day for them all- the teams had had a sort of practice test against their opposite team. A-team against the B-team, and C-team against the D-team. They had had four tests: a sort of navigation quiz, a game of volleyball, archery, and a race. The winning teams were rubbing their score in the losers' faces, while the losers spat back with irritation in defense. Still, everybody could admit that they had done exceptionally well. But only exceptionally. Gobber didn't seem too pleased with the A-team's performance, nor how easy it was for the B-team to win.

Everyone had their own friends to sit with at supper. Hiccup saw Snotlout sitting with Tuffnut, and Astrid with Ruffnut, and that other girl, Heather. Even Fishlegs recognized a guy from his old school and was now sitting with him at nearly every meal... yes. Everyone had their group.

Except Hiccup.

He always sat alone, chewing silently and offering a smile when someone happened to glance at him. But the fact that he was alone could not be ignored, by the others or himself. Hiccup, truth be told, was getting sick of it... but what could he do? No one wanted to sit with him, anyways... for some crazy reason… Apparently, the "BB gun incident" would not be forgotten for a long time, nor did anyone want to hang out with the culprit of it. He was marked as a troublemaker, and no kid wanted to hang with someone who could get them in trouble with a counsellor.

Hiccup sighed as he bit into his dinner- a Sloppy Joe that kept on almost getting on his T-shirt. He watched as the others campers hungrily dug into their meals, but Hiccup didn't have much of an appetite. He wasn't really hungry of late. It seemed to be a typical camp evening…

...until he saw his cousin, Snotlout, marching up to him.

Hiccup was surprised at first. Snotlout _never_ interacted with Hiccup in public, and even in private spent as less time as possible with the brunette. So it stunned Hiccup to see Snotlout coming near his secluded table in the back. He wondered what had happened to make Snotlout have to come over to him. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

However, his confusion faded into worry when he saw his cousin's expression. A face of pure, sick, contempt. Snotlout was going to do something, Hiccup realized at once. He had seen that countenance as a child too many times, and was certain of his conclusion.

"Well, hello there, _Hiccup_ ," said Snotlout, slamming his hands down on Hiccup's table once he arrived. The chatter died down a little at the sound, and campers glanced over in alarm, but it soon started up again.

"Erm... hey, cuz," Hiccup replied, awkwardly setting his Sloppy Joe back onto his plate. "As much as I am honored by your... _delightful_ presence, _why_ are you talking to me?"

Snotlout crossed his arms. "Have you forgotten?"

"Forgotten what?"

"Forgotten about my promise," said Snotlout easily.

Hiccup feigned trying to remember. "Hmm, no. I don't recall. Care to enlighten me?"

"Yes," Snotlout growled. "I do care to _enlighten_ you. The promise I made- I think it was around a week ago, in the forest? The promise that you would pay for insulting me. Remember?"

Hiccup nodded, seemingly calm on the outside, but inside, his instincts were screaming at him to run away from his cousin as fast as he could. This was going to go horribly wrong, he could feel it. "Oh, yeah. What about it?"

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Stop playing games, Hiccup. You know what I mean."

Hiccup stared his cousin straight in the eye, serious and still. "I don't think I do," he said quietly. "What are you trying to say, Snotlout?"

Snotlout leaned in and grabbed Hiccup's collar, hoisting him out of his seat. A few campers glanced over at the scene, looking shocked. A few glanced around to see if there was a nearby counsellor to stop Snotlout from his recklessness, but the present ones were too engaged in "adult" talk to notice.

"Tonight," Snotlout breathed, "you meet me by the campfire. There, we'll take care of business. Now, even you aren't so dull to understand what I mean by business."

He was correct. Hiccup understood that threat very much, to his dismay.

"When?" Hiccup managed out, though it was difficult to speak when one was being held up by their collar.

Snotlout thought about it for a moment, and during that time, Hiccup struggled to be released, but Snotlout held strong. "Twelve thirty," he decided at last. "Twelve thirty tonight. And you'd better be there... I'll know if you aren't. And if you decide to stay in the cabin... well, I'll know. I'll know if you're there… or not. And it you aren't… that's bad news for you." He set Hiccup back down, his arm tired of holding him up despite Hiccup's small weight.

Hiccup was able to nod after a moment. "I guess it doesn't take much brains to check a bed for a person. But, anyways," he added before Snotlout could figure the first line out, "why now? Why not before? Why tonight? Why can't it be scheduled, uh..." He pretended to check his watch. "...after I hit puberty, maybe?"

"Don't be ridiculous," said Snotlout. "We both know you'll stay the scrawny kid you are forever. And why now? Well, Hiccup... today, we lost against the B-team. We lost against a bunch of kids who are half-crazy and half-weird. That shouldn't have happened... but it did, because of your pathetic lack of physical whatever. And I," Snotlout said, an almost _dreamy_ look on his face, "need to _win_ for once... you can understand that, right?"

Hiccup rubbed his temples. "Go punch a tree, then," he returned, starting to walk away, but Snotlout grabbed him once more and pulled him back. His jaw was set, and brows lowered.

"Tonight, at the campfire, twelve thirty, then. Be early. It'll be suspicious if we go out at the same time," Snotlout said. "I look forward to it."

"The feeling _isn't_ mutual," Hiccup growled through clenched teeth.

His cousin ignored him, let go of his arm, then stalked back to his and Tuffnut's table. Tuffnut looked slightly concerned at Snotlout's aggressive behavior, and didn't return the high-five his pretty much violent friend offered. Everyone had their limits.

Hiccup rubbed his neck as he watched Snotlout go. His mind raced. What to do, what to do...? He couldn't stay in his cabin, or Snotlout would find him in his bed and beat him up _there_... and the other boys in the Blacksmiths' cabin wouldn't intervene... not to Snotlout… But leaving his cabin and going to the campfire meant he would certainly get beat up, too... He momentarily thought of telling Gobber or another counsellor about Snotlout's threat, but then he imagined his father's disappointed and scowling face yelling at Hiccup about how he needed to start acting like a man. Hiccup _couldn't_ ask for help. Stoick would never approve of his son _asking for help_. And plus- Hiccup's summer would be tormented by Snotlout's teasing about running for "Daddy" if he told someone. He was back to square one.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

What if he went out of his cabin... but he never went to the campfire? He could make his way to the cove and stay with Toothless for a few hours. The two had warmed up a considerable amount in the past few days since Toothless had allowed Hiccup to touch him, and Toothless would be happy to see his friend again. Hiccup hadn't managed to visit the dog last night, and would be glad to see Toothless, too. And then he could play the "I was there but you weren't!" game on Snotlout. And if Snotlout couldn't find him in the cabin, or anywhere else at camp, he wouldn't know where his cousin was. He definitely wouldn't guess that Hiccup had gone into the woods- or beyond the Fence, for that matter. Hiccup would've just… disappeared.

Nodding, Hiccup smiled in relief and sat back down. He had just avoided a beating... thank goodness... _No,_ he thought. _Thank_ Tooth _less._

Now all he had to do was make it there… and hopefully, not be caught.

* * *

The evening passed all too quickly for Hiccup's liking. S'mores with Gobber by the campfire were a rush of chocolate and marshmallows, and the ghost stories only added to Hiccup's fear for tonight. Especially the fact that Gobber's new tale was about a camper who snuck out into the woods at night and never returned...

Soon, the campers were dismissed back to their cabins and got ready for bed. Hiccup kept his day-clothes on, feeling that if he was going to hide from Snotlout far away in the wood, it would be done in a dignified way, not in dragon pajamas.

Right before Gobber called, "Lights out!" to the cabin (which was around ten thirty), Snotlout smirked and winked over to Hiccup from his bunk. Hiccup, who was sitting at his desk and writing his daily entry in his notebook, gulped. His cousin was taunting him. _You can't run from this_. Little did he know, Hiccup could. And _would…_

He waited what seemed to be a few days until most everyone sounded like they were asleep- except Snotlout of course, who must've been biding his time waiting for twelve thirty. Hiccup kept nodding off, only for his high-alert nerves to jolt him awake for a few pounding seconds. This went over countless of times until staying in bed sounded a lot more comfortable than running from Snotlout... it was nice and cool tonight, a pleasant change from the summer's muggy weather. And the blankets provided just the amount of warmth he needed… he was so content already… But by the end of it, Hiccup had managed to stay awake, and it was time to go.

Hiccup nervously glanced at the bunk above him... Snotlout was lying there, probably awake, and listening to Hiccup's every move... Through the pale moonlight that shone through the window, he could see the face of his watch. _12:17_ it read. He decided he'd better go now... more time to run to the cove.

He quietly crept out of bed, making as little sound as possible. Tuffnut nor Fishlegs stirred at his rousing, so he inched on till he reached the door. Trying to be as silent as possible, Hiccup cracked open the door, wincing at every moan and creak of the wood. Gobber really needed to get that oiled.

Taking in a breath, Hiccup continued on. The night air was pleasantly cool- something he would've enjoyed if not for the fact that he was a) breaking the rules _again_ , b) going into the dark, buzzing forest at an hour that wasn't safe for anybody, and c) not at all happy about ever deciding that he wanted to come to camp (He was an idiot, he kept on thinking).

Hiccup scurried across camp as quickly as possible, though being quiet and light on his usually clumsy feet. Whatever lingering exhaustion he had from wanting to sleep vanished. He was wide awake with adrenaline now.

He would go to the campfire first, so if Snotlout somehow saw him through the window or heard his footsteps, he'd know that Hiccup had gone through with his promise. Hiccup stood there for a minute, slightly hunched over and his hands tucked in his jacket pockets. He shivered in a slight breeze, longing for the warmth of his blankets. How he wanted to return to his nest of them, curl up, and wake up safe at home from all of… _this_.

 _Crunch._

Hiccup tensed as he heard something rustle behind him. He slowly turned around to see what had made the sound, but only distinguished the familiar sight of moonlit cabins as silent and dark as a ghost town. _Must've been the wind_ , Hiccup thought, nodding to himself. Still, a sense of unease settled over him. He remembered Gobber's warnings... there was something out there... the "Red Death"? A bear? A wolf? Something else? Well, one thing was for sure- he needed to be careful.

 _Crunch. Crunch. Crunch._

Hiccup whipped around, much more alarmed than before. It sounded like someone was _walking..._ or some _thing_. Maybe Snotlout? No, it wasn't coming from the direction of the Blacksmiths' Cabin... it was coming from down the path that led to the exit of camp. Besides him, of course, who'd be dumb enough to be outside in the middle of the night? Someone who wasn't good, that was who. Maybe even a wild creature had snuck into camp and was wandering around camp looking for food. It had happened before.

Hiccup glanced around for some sort of weapon to defend himself. He saw a broad log leftover from the campfire what seemed to be a million year ago and grabbed it, holding it out in front of him like a baseball bat ready to swing. He held his breath in trepidation of what was yet to come. The sounds were growing closer and closer, and soon the thing would round around the cabin it was behind… and Hiccup would see what it was.

 _Crunch. Crunch. CRUNCH!_

The thing came around the corner.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Hiccup swung.

"WOAH!" something hissed in front of him, startling the brunette into opening his eyes. He was stunned to see that it was not a creature who had been walking around camp, but a furious girl.

 _Astrid Hofferson._

Hiccup gaped as the blood drained out of his face. He had swung. A log. At. Astrid. Hofferson. A _log_. At _Astrid Hofferson._

"Oh my g- what- A-Astrid!" he gasped, his 'weapon' hanging limp in his arms. The blonde glared at him, grabbing the top of her head with one hand.

"You could have hit me hard with that thing!" she accused in a low whisper. "Hit me in the head and knocked me out! Luckily, it only brushed me... Why did you _do_ that, Hiccup? I knew you were strange, but I'd never thought you'd drop to bashing someone on the head!"

Hiccup was shaking. Why was Fate so cruel to him? Of all the people to nearly injure... Every leftover dream he had was being crushed in front of him. "I-I-I... I thought you were a bear," he said lamely, dropping the log on the ground, far away from Astrid's head.

"Do I _look_ like a bear?" she growled. Hiccup looked over her, and though she did look just as surly and ferocious as one at the moment, especially with those wild strands of hair that had come untucked from her braid, he shook his head.

"Um- n-no, of course not," he stammered. "So-sorry, Astrid, I didn't mean to..."

The two stared at each other, then asked at the same time, "What are you doing here?"

Astrid glared. "I said it first."

"I a-a-actually, really extra surely, think I-I did," said Hiccup, cautious at the fact that he was disagreeing with Astrid. But he was too tired to be his usual anxious self.

"No!"

"Um... I really do-don't think-" Hiccup began, but Astrid cut him off.

"You're breaking the rules by being out here, _Hiccup._ "

"Well, Astrid... so are y-you."

"I-" Astrid struggled for words. "It's not the same..."

Hiccup held his hands up in surrender. "How about we just agree to not tell on each other? We both broke the rules, and we'll both get in trouble if someone finds out. So… um… truce?" He offered a tentative hand to shake. For some reason, he really wasn't as jittery and nervous around Astrid as he usually was. The adrenaline of fear was wearing off, and he now really felt the effects of staying up later than he should've these past few nights.

After a moment, Astrid reluctantly shook his hand. "Fine," she muttered. "And we won't tell each other why we were out here tonight, either?"

Hiccup had a fleeting thought of Astrid beating up Snotlout for him, but he quickly shook it off. Like Astrid would ever help a guy like him. "Yeah," he said instead. "No questions, no lies… so… uh… are you going back to your cabin now?"

Astrid nodded. "Yes," she said stiffly. "You?"

Hiccup shook his head. "Nah… have to stay here… for that unknown reason… yeah…"

"Well, is it _that_ important?" Astrid said in a furied whisper, removing her hand from her head. "If someone finds you out here, you'll get in trouble. Big trouble. Especially after the BB gun incident." Hiccup was surprised. Did Astrid actually _care_ that he would get in trouble? With a glance at her angry expression, probably not. Most likely, she was worried for her own skin.

"Um… yeah, I guess it's that important… I just-"

"EXPLAIN _THAT_!" a frenzied voice interrupted Hiccup, and the teenagers jumped in surprise at the sudden voice. It seemed to be coming from the direction of the nearby counselors' cabin. Yet the voice sounded very familiar…

"Is that…," Astrid began, sounding incredulous. "... _Gobber_?"

Hiccup was just as stunned. "It sure sounded like it… but what… what is he talking about?"

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other, and for once, they were in agreement. They nodded with decision. They would listen in on Gobber's conversation. Quietly, they crept closer to the large cabin where the voice was coming from. There were a few other voices in there too, but they were quieter than Gobber's booming tone.

They reached the side of the cabin, and the crouched down so they were hidden from the view of the window. They peeked their heads up a bit so they could see inside of the room, and were surprised at what they took in.

All of the counselors were gathered inside, standing around a table. Gobber, Spitelout, Dagur, Alvin, Mala, Throk, Ryker, and Viggo… All of them looked either angry or irritated. Gobber was at the front of the table, his clenched fists slammed down on the table, and holding an expression of fury.

"Don't say yeh don't think something's off!" Gobber shouted at Spitelout, spittle flying. "We've seen it all, haven't we? Something's out there…"

"Please," said Mala, "keep your voice down. The campers are _trying_ to sleep, but with _your_ voice, I'm afraid they can't get a wink." At her side, Throk nodded in consent, crossing his arms.

Spitelout leaned forward, scowling. "Tha' doesn't mean it's the _Red Death_ , Gobber! Could be a bear or a wolf or somethin'."

Astrid and Hiccup glanced at each other, slightly gaping. They tuned back into the conversation after a moment, though.

"A bear that just leaves its dead prey lying around without eating it?" Gobber growled. "No animals out here in Camp Dragons do that. Look, I'm not saying we're all going to die… but if just _one_ camper is injured out there, Red Death or no, this camp could be-"

"Gobber, Gobber, _Gobber,_ " the red-head, Dagur, interrupted, grinning. "Always going to such extreme thoughts. Who cares if a kid gets a scrape or two, maybe loses a toe, even?" He laughed, not seeming to realize the sadistic heartlessness of his words. "It's _life_ , folks! We all get hurt!"

Everyone glared at him, and Dagur cleared his throat and stepped back an inch.

"Okay, okay," Dagur muttered. "But just because a kid gets hurt, that _doesn't_ mean that the camp will be shut _down_!"

Hiccup and Astrid had to cover their mouths to hold in their gasps. They turned to each other, faces pale- and just not because of the moonlight. " _Shut down_?" Hiccup hissed, so shocked he forgot to be nervous in front of Astrid. "Camp Dragons… shut down… how… how…" He just couldn't fathom it. Camp Dragons had been a camp for _decades_. It couldn't be shut down… it couldn't… did Stoick know about this? He didn't think so… he'd _never_ agree.

Astrid looked stunned, then shook her head. "I'm sure they're just exaggerating," she whispered… but even she sounded doubtful. Hiccup felt like Snotlout had beat him up, he was so breathless. The pride of his father… the infamous Camp Dragons… the camp with usually a year waiting list to get in… might be shut down? But why? What was so horrible that it would shut down an entire camp, take out its very survival...

All of the counsellors looked uneasy at what Dagur had just said. But they'd all been thinking it… Dagur had just voiced their worries. "I'm sure tha' won't come teh pass," the enormous man Alvin grunted from inside. "Just because there was a couple o' sightings o' somethin' in the woods, it doesn't mean tha' it'll get the little bra- campers."

"Sightings?" Astrid murmured. "I mean, Gobber's warned us about stuff… but I thought he was just being… Gobber."

Hiccup could only shrug with wide and protuberant eyes.

"Well, it doesn't mean it _won't_ get them," Ryker said.

The guy with the goatee- Viggo, Hiccup remembered- nodded. "I agree with my brother. We must take the necessary precautions for the well-being of the campers, as well as Camp Dragons. Despite the indifference some of us show, if we lose our jobs, it will mean back to waiting tables. And I'm sure none of us would like that."

Everyone agreed with Viggo's words. "But they'd better be good precautions," said Gobber. "Were yeh even listening to what I said? Dead animal bodies, parts of the wood where hardly an animal goes, claw marks scratched in trees… this is a big problem, men. And woman," he added, when Mala glared.

"Then what do you suggest?" Alvin grumbled.

Dagur cackled excitedly. "Blood _bath,_ blood _bath,_ blood _bath_!" he chanted. When everyone glowered at him again, he said, "Well… not ours. _Theirs_. I mean… Death or glory!"

"No one is dying!" Throk shouted, and Mala set a hand on his shoulder to quiethim.

Gobber's blonde mustache twitched. "Whatever the case, we need to be cautious. Extra rules, don't let the campers travel alone when they're beyond the Fence… don't keep the trash out at night fer the wild beasts to sniff out. As much as I love danger, I won't risk my campers' lives fer it." To Hiccup's surprise, Gobber sounded serious, which was strange; Gobber never sounded serious. He always had a floppy grin and an untamed, buoyant voice. But now, that smile was nowhere to be seen, and his tone was restrained to a normal volume that Mala did not criticize.

"Should we tell Stoick?" Ryker asked. _So they haven't told Dad_ , thought Hiccup. _Oh boy, when he finds out..._

After a moment, Gobber shook his heady. "Nothing bad has happened yet. We'll only let him know if something drastic goes down. We can solve our own problems, yeh know… don't need to scramble to the boss as soon as things go wrong."

"Idiots," Astrid breathed. "Someone could be hurt from the counsellors not telling someone about this…"

Hiccup looked stunned. "I-idiots? Isn't that a bit… harsh?"

"I think in my own way."

Hiccup nodded. "I k-know. I-I-I-it's just-"

"You're doing it again," Astrid cut in, staring at him with a bemused look.

Hiccup's cheeks flamed up. "D-doing what?"

"There, again. Stuttering. Do you like, always stutter, or is it just around me or something? I've seen you talk to Snotlout or Gobber before, and you're fine. But with me…" Astrid paused. "Why do you do that, Hiccup?" Her voice was surprisingly gentle, shocking Hiccup so much that he stumbled and hit his knee on the wall of the cabin. Now, it wasn't a very loud sound, but from inside, it sounded like something was hitting the wall.

From inside, the counsellors looked around suspiciously. The fact that they were talking about an animal that could attack camp made them fear all the more. Astrid lunged and grabbed Hiccup, pulling him down beneath the window and flat onto the grass. Tucked into the wall as closely as possible, she lay on top of him, holding her breath as Gobber came over to the window and looked around outside in the darkness for the source of the noise.

"I-" Hiccup gasped, choking on his breath, but Astrid interrupted him by slamming her palm down on his mouth. Hiccup felt how tense she was.

"What was tha'?" Alvin's voice wondered, sounding slightly muffled to Hiccup from the new distance away. Hiccup was hyper aware of Astrid… she was right on _top_ of him. Touching him. She smelled of pine and a little something extra sweet Hiccup couldn't quite place his finger on. It smelled nice.

A burst of chuckles erupted in the room. "The _Red Death_ , maybe- eh, Gobber?" Spitelout laughed.

"I never said that it was," Gobber snarled, and Astrid saw his shadow disappear from the window as he came back over to the table. They both breathed out in relief. "Now, that thing that killed those animals might be roaming our very forest as we speak, and hunting. Whatever trapped creature or wounded one is dead meat." He said the words with finality and truth.

Hiccup's blood chilled. _Toothless... he's trapped... oh, gosh, is that thing going to..._ His eyes widened with fear for his friend. _I need to get him out of there!_

Astrid's eyes met Hiccup's in beady alarm. The two nodded at each other as Astrid scrambled off of the boy and onto the grass beside him. They had to make a break for it. Now. A moment later, still on their hands and knees, they inched away from the counsellors' cabin and back to the campfire. As they crawled, Hiccup whispered, "Do you think that the creature is the Red Death?"

From in front of him, Astrid murmured, "I don't know. Maybe. There are a lot of creatures in the forest, it could be any of them…"

"Do you… do you think we should tell someone about what we heard?"

"No way," Astrid scoffed. "They'd know we were eavesdropping, and know we had been out in the middle of the night… together. Don't want them getting the wrong impression that _we're_ together."

That hurt Hiccup, but he swallowed back his pain and asked, "Um… why were you out in the first place? I mean- you don't have to answer…"

Astrid paused in her crawl, forcing Hiccup to stop so he wouldn't run into her. "I was sending a letter," she muttered. "To my home. I just didn't want the others to see me sending a letter back to my parents… though I don't _really_ care what people think of, I have a status to maintain that I just can't lose."

As she talked, they had reached the campfire and climbed to their feet, safely out of sight of the counsellors' cabin. Hiccup released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, about to respond to Astrid's admittance...

Until he saw that someone was standing near the campfire, smirking.

"About time, _Hiccup_ ," Snotlout sneered. "About time you showed up..." He then noticed Astrid standing by his cousin, glaring at him, and seemed a bit... well... _frightened._ "What are you doing here?" Snotlout said stupidly.

Astrid put her hands on her hips. "None of your business," she fired in a hot whisper. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Teaching Hiccup the Useless here a lesson, why else would he be out here in the middle of the night?"

"I'm right here, you know," Hiccup murmured. The others ignored him.

Astrid's brow lowered. "You mean beat him up."

"Well, yeah. We lost against that wretched B-team, and I need to- um, Astrid, what are you doing- AHH!" Astrid had just walked up and grabbed the collar of Snotlout's shirt. Hiccup got the feeling that she would've lifted him up in the air if he wasn't so heavy. He watched the blonde do this in wonder.

"If you even _pinch_ Hiccup," she growled, "I swear that I will make your summer more miserable than being stuck outside in the heat all day in July. I'll know if you hurt him. And you will _pay._ Do I make myself clear?"

Astrid looked quite scary, her face a mask of rage and fury, hair flying a bit astray, which was giving her a wild appearance. _Bear_ , Hiccup thought again- but he was too amazed at what Astrid was saying and doing to care.

"Y-yes," Snotlout squeaked in a very unmanly-like tone.

After a moment, Astrid released his collar. "Good. Now _scram._ "

Snotlout did just so, tripping his way back to his cabin and glancing fearfully over his shoulder. Hiccup knew that the threat of Snotlout was gone. He turned to Astrid, stunned. "Wh-why... why would you do that f-for me?"

Astrid crossed her arms, but she looked uncomfortable. "Don't flatter yourself. I hate Snotlout, and I want to get back at him for hitting on me." Her face softened. "Plus, I don't think you could hold your own in a fight. It isn't fair."

"My cousin isn't exactly known for being fair," Hiccup mumbled.

"He's your _cousin_?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I'm so _proud…_ ha, I'd rather have the Red _Death_ as family."

Astrid laughed a true, genuine laugh. Hiccup was again surprised. His long-time crush actually thought his joke was humorous? He couldn't believe it. Ooh, those nerves were coming back… "You can be funny, Hiccup... and you seem like a good person beneath all of… _that_. I don't know what went down during the BB gun incident, but maybe you _did_ see something. Maybe you're _not_ a troublemaker..." She studied him. "Maybe."

By the time Hiccup had found a reply, Astrid had already ran back off to her cabin.

"Th-thanks," he stammered after her. Oh gosh... he felt... he felt like he was _flying_. Soaring... like he had _wings_! He felt so _good_... Astrid thought he was funny, and not a liar... called him a good person... He shook his head in wonderful disbelief. _Astrid Hofferson..._

Suddenly, a dark thought interrupted his joy. It came from nowhere, but it was urgent.

 _The Red Death may be out there now- or whatever creature killed those animals. Gobber said that all trapped and wounded animals are... dead meat. Toothless is trapped in the cove_ and _wounded._ His forehead creased with worry. _If I don't get Toothless out of there... he'll be killed._

His happiness faded out into hopelessness. Toothless. His first actual friend, it seemed, might die because he was trapped… because Hiccup, the _idiot_ he had been, had shot him. Gosh, Hiccup had to get Toothless out of there as quickly as possible… even if it meant Toothless would run away and leave him here alone at camp. Life was loss, and sacrifice… but if it would save Toothless, Hiccup would do anything.

And fortunately… he had a plan.

* * *

 _The humans had discovered its food stash._

 _It was angry about this. No other creature, other than ignorant little squirrels of course, would dare interfere with its deceased prey. If they did,_ they _would become the prey. And no creature wanted that. But the humans... they were different. They were bigger, smarter, and tended to travel in packs when they ventured into its home. Though it was ferocious and respected in the wilderness world, it couldn't take down more than two or three humans- especially not the big ones like those humans. The ones who had found its food._

 _Up in its cave, its hissed longingly. Though it had been several moons since the incident, it still hadn't gotten over it. Not one bit. Those humans would pay, yes... they would pay for messing with the fearsome creature it was._

 _So it would bide its time while it waited for the proper subject to prey upon. It had been down to that little camp a few times before, and had seen young humans running around. So tiny. So naive. So_ easy _. It'd just have to wait until one of them wandered close enough for it to pounce on…_

 _And face it._ That _wouldn't be too long._

 _Snarling, it settled down its home. It could wait till then. It could wait for vengeance. It could wait for blood._

 _Oh, revenge would be_ sweet _._

* * *

 **I hope this satisfies to the people who wanted some Hiccstrid, however small. :-) But who is this creature at the end, and who will be the victim of its revenge? And what does our little Hiccup have in store for his dragon- er, dog. Thanks for all of your support, my friends. Every kind word means the world.**


	7. Make A Way

**...so... I'm sick. AGAIN. So please excuse any mistypes or things that don't make sense in this chapter, as I edited this while feeling rather like the Red Death got me. :P This one will be on the shorter side- by my standers, haha, that last 5700 word chapter was a killer, right? ANYWAYS. Onward...**

 **Suggested story of the week: 'The Blacksmith's Apprentice' by harrypanther.**

* * *

 **Make A Way**

* * *

"Scratch… _scratch_ …

"Who stole my golden hook… scratch… _SCCRRRAAAATTTCCHHHH!_ …and then he turned around… and he said, ' _YOU DID!'_ " Tuffnut whirled on his feet to face his audience of A-team campers, pointing a subjective finger towards Fishlegs, who looked a little surprised, though not scared. Tuffnut glanced around to see if any of the others were frightened, but they all looked unamused, if not a little bored. Tuffnut sighed, surly. "Oooh… tough bunch tonight, eh…"

Gobber started a polite applause, and the others reluctantly joined in. "Very good, Tuffnut… any comments, campers? _Nice_ ones?"

Astrid, who had just opened her mouth, closed it. Snotlout turned his head away. Ruffnut glared at her brother, Fishlegs looked around nervously, and Hiccup leaned forward and cupped his hands under his chin. Gobber had let a few of the campers tell their own ghost stories this time instead of doing it himself. Astrid had told a good one- Hiccup would be cautious about going in the shower on full moons from now on. But Tuffnut's… it was utterly cheesy, and overall, dull. No one was impressed. Even Tuffnut's 'best buddy' Snotlout barely clapped.

"Alright then," said Gobber, clearing his throat. "How about critiques?"

Hands shot up, making Gobber wince. "Actually, er… I think it's getting a wee bit late. We should call it a night, I think, everyone… big day tomorrow… There's only a month and a half left o' camp, and we're stepping up our game and doing something special fer the occasion."

"What?" Snotlout drawled. "Another _volleyball game_? Come on, we signed up for _camp_ , not a recreational sports match. I want to go _hunting_. Camp out in the wild for a few nights. Is that too much to ask?"

Face flickering with the firelight, Gobber glared at Snotlout. "I believe that's for me teh decide, and you teh find out, boy," he said. "We do what I think is best."

"But… is there a _chance_ we'll get to do the actually _cool_ stuff?"

"Perhaps," Gobber said slowly.

Hiccup, however, knew that there wasn't. Thinking back to last week when he and Astrid had eavesdropped on the counsellors' conversation, he knew Gobber would be as careful as possible with the campers. Whatever was lurking out there- the Red Death or something else- was dangerous and deadly. Hiccup didn't fancy getting eaten by a wild animal, so he would only go as far as the cove when he went beyond the Fence, thank you very much.

He glanced over at Astrid, whose darkening face seemed to be thinking the same line of thoughts he was. The two had only made small talk after their adventure together, disappointing Hiccup. But then again, did he really expect them to magically become best friends after one night? No, not really… Still, a few words from Astrid were better than just plain ignorance. Better something than nothing. And Snotlout never mentioned his threat of beating his cousin up again, which was an enormous bonus. No more sleepless nights fearing for his life. The danger seemed to have passed, thanks to Astrid, and Hiccup was eternally grateful for that.

"Dragons," Gobber began, looking around the campfire. Tuffnut went to sit down near Snotlout, who nudged him playfully in return. "As you know, the final ceremony for Camp Dragons is coming up in just over a month. O'course, that isn't the only ceremony we'll be having… I don't know if any of yeh remember, but our Camp Leader, Chief Stoick, told yeh that there would be another test. A test for a solo camper. Not the entire team, but just one. Now, here at Camp Dragons, we admire all kinds of strength, and appreciate when yeh do your best. However, in this case, you will have to _be_ the best. The best camper- out of all four teams, or twenty-four campers- will be chosen to show off what they've learned in front of their own parents, the counsellors, Chief Stoick, the other Dragons and _their_ parents." He looked very serious. "This here is a huge honor at Camp Dragons if yeh're the one teh be chosen. So that's why I'm telling yeh ahead of time- practice your skills, and yeh very well could be chosen."

Tuffnut straightened. "Ooh! It's gonna be _me_ ," he said proudly. "It's my destiny." He sounded very matter-of-fact.

" _Destiny_?" Astrid scoffed. "There's no such thing as _destiny_."

"Yes there is!" Tuffnut insisted. He then rolled up his red and black Camp Dragons' T-shirt sleeve to show a tiny tattoo of a dragon on his shoulder. "See?"

Snotlout gaped. "Your mom let you get a _tattoo_?"

"No, it's a _birthmark_!"

Ruffnut, who was sitting next to her brother, nearly shoved him off of the log in protest. "That's no _birthmark._ I saw you put that _stick on_ tattoo in Arts and Crafts today, you idiot."

The campers started clamoring over this growing fight. Hiccup watched, making an occasional comment that was lost in the noise. Soon, the fight wasn't even about Tuffnut's 'tattoo', but about each other. Snipey comments exploded into chaos and insults. It seemed everyone was against someone. Even Hiccup, who usually liked to keep out of these things, was glaring at Snotlout. The fight grew to be so loud that Gobber, his face a shade of red that made Hiccup have an idea of what the Red Death looked like, stood up and shouted, "QUIET, YOU NOISY LOT!"

Hearing their counsellor's booming voice silenced the altercation immediately.

"Do yeh really think that this kind o' behavior will get yeh chosen to compete?" said Gobber angrily.

A few of the quarreling campers had the grace to look ashamed.

Gobber was still glowering. "Dragons fight," he said, "but not against each other. We are the Blacksmiths, and the Weapons. Teh get weapons, you need blacksmiths. And blacksmiths are there teh make the weapons. Teh function, yeh need to work together. I'll accept a little rough-housing with the other teams, but _not_ , I repeat, with your fellow Blacksmiths and Weapons. We are the A-team, and are expected teh be the best."

"By who?" Snotlout had the audacity to ask.

"By _me_!" Gobber retorted. "Now, are yeh going to work together, or should I-"

" _ARGHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"_ something screamed from the forest, making _everyone_ jump. This scream was like nothing anyone had ever heard. And worse- it wasn't human. It must've been an animal. Hiccup felt chilled one moment, then feverish with fear the next. The other campers didn't look much better off. Fishlegs' eyes were beady with fear, and his pale skin suggested that he might faint.

"What was _that_?" Hiccup spoke for the whole group.

For once, Gobber was speechless.

After a minute, the counsellor managed to form a few words. "I think," he said carefully, "it's time for us all to get to bed." There were no protests as the A-team scrambled off to their cabins, fearing whatever had made that sound. As Hiccup sprinted to the Blacksmiths' Cabin, his heart pounded. _That must be the thing Gobber was talking about last week_ , he realized. _The thing that kills animals…_ could _kill Toothless…._ His blood chilled again at the thought of his friend in danger. During the past, long, hard week, Toothless had been his oasis in a desert of challenges.

"I have to get him out of that cove," Hiccup whispered as he got ready for bed. He had been avoiding the endeavor, he knew, not wanting to lose his only friend… but now, it was vital. If he was weak, Toothless could _die_. And Hiccup couldn't _bear_ that. He had to set aside his personal feelings and take action… not tomorrow, or even the following day. _Tonight_.

As Hiccup brushed his teeth over the sink, he shivered as he heard another scream from the woods.

* * *

Hiccup rose early the next morning to get started on his plan. The sun hadn't even come up yet, proving his dedication. His cabin-mates seemed to be knocked out from last night's scare, and he easily sneaked out of the cabin without rousing anyone. He shivered in the early morning coolness, thankful that he had decided to wear a jacket. For a summer day, it was unusually cold. Quietly, he made his way over to the Arts and Crafts building and slipped inside. He hoped that the place had enough supplies for him to work with, and mentally ran over a list of what he'd need. A strong and tough rope, some wooden planks, hooks... All of them were mandatory for success.

Rubbing his hands together, Hiccup set to work, as silent as possible. He hoped to finish this and get it down to the cove before the other campers woke, though it might've been a far-fetched idea. These things took time. But he would try. He had to...

First, he gathered the tools he needed, along with the supplies for what he was planning on. From there forth, he worked diligently at the tables, burning with a determination he had never quite felt before. He would be saving a life by doing this. Saving a _life._ It made this job a hundred times more important.

By the time the sun had risen and Hiccup's watch beeped, alarming him of the camp's soon awakening, he was almost finished. It was hasty work, but would probably do the job. He wiped his brow, surprised to find sweat there, but brushed it off a moment later. He had been very focused and intent with his work. It was no surprise that his commitment had showed. Hiccup tightened a last knot before he examined his project.

A pulley.

By using a pulley, Hiccup could lift Toothless from the cove without paining the German Shepherd. He would tie the metal part of the pulley to a stable rock at the top of the cliff, attach the rope to it, then tie it to the wooden plank. He would then lure the dog onto the plank and have him stand on it. Once there, Hiccup would tug on the other end of the rope, lifting Toothless into the air- and eventually out of the cove.

Simple.

However, it'd have to wait till this afternoon after training… And he'd have to avoid Gobber, too. His rules had grown stricter and stricter about wandering away from camp. If he found out that Hiccup was not only going beyond the Fence, but to visit a wild animal… he would _flip_. So Hiccup would have to be discreet... He could do that, right? Well, he'd have to, if he wanted to save Toothless.

As Hiccup took the pulley to his cabin and hid it in his trunk, he felt a pang of looming loneliness. When Toothless went… he'd be alone once more. That was a fact he could not ignore.

Sighing, he crawled back into bed, hoping for a few minutes of sleep before he had to wake again. Unfortunately, it was only moments later when Gobber threw open the door, booming, "GOOD MORNING, BLACKSMITHS!", which elicited several groans and the pulling of pillows over heads.

Gobber was true to his word. Training was tough- lots of physical activity that left Hiccup in the dust and laughed at. But fortunately, the girls weren't there. They were doing some other training with Spitelout. That saved a bit of his embarrassment- being seen as weak by Astrid was painful enough. By the time those long hours were over, Hiccup was saturated with exhaustion and out of breath. For a few seconds, he considered bringing the pulley to the cove this evening, or even tomorrow, but the thought of that unearthly scream last night wiped away his fatigue and replaced it with a newfound determination. He was ready to _save_ Toothless! As the brave thought ran through his head, he marveled at how manly that sounded.

After eating a quick lunch in the Great Hall and parting with the other campers (who had gone to the recreational center to play foosball, a new game that had been brought in), Hiccup retrieved the pulley from his cabin and slipped into the woods. He took some extra food along for Toothless so he could lure him on the plank. It was a nice, cooked salmon that Hiccup hoped the dog would enjoy. Hopefully, what was left of Toothless's teeth would be able to penetrate the tough skin of the fish. With Toothless's commitment, he would most likely pull through.

He didn't even have to think about the direction to the cove anymore- his feet simply carried him the way he was supposed to go. After dozens of days of going to the place, he knew the path by heart and didn't fear about getting lost. It was holding the pulley that was the problem. The awkward device had many parts that kept almost slipping from his arms. Several times, he dropped a hook or the end of a rope and had to pause and regroup. The trip to Toothless's home took nearly twice as long as usual.

Finally- _finally_ \- he arrived. The cove was, as always, a welcome sight. Hiccup whistled down to alert Toothless of his presence, earning an excited bark. Trapped in a cove day in and day out was boring for the dog, and Toothless appreciated each of Hiccup's visits. He had calmed down quite a lot since Hiccup had first found him in the cove, and now would not only let Hiccup touch him, but would also rest against Hiccup's feet when the teenager decided he wanted to quietly sketch a scene. Most of his drawings were of Toothless, and they quickly filled his notebook pages.

"Hey, bud!" Hiccup called down, looking over the edge. Toothless was sitting below him, the remains of his tail wagging madly. Hiccup grinned. "Okay, okay- hey, I've gotta set something up real quick. I'll be down in a minute, I promise." Toothless woofed in agreement, still watching his friend as his head disappeared back over the ledge.

Hiccup worked fast, tying the pulley to a stable part of the ledge and attaching the rope, along with the plank. Soon enough, he was done, and made his way down the rocks to Toothless. The German Shepherd bounded into the boy, nearly knocking him over, and licking him in the face like it had been years since he had last seen his friend. Hiccup groaned at the saliva Toothless's tongue left.

"You _know_ that doesn't wash out!" Hiccup scolded, trying to wipe the spittle away, but to no avail. Dog saliva was hard to get rid of- and explain to others- on his clothes. Not to mention the shedding of the fur…

Despite the fact that he was, well, a dog, Toothless's eyes gleamed, suggesting he knew exactly what he had done to Hiccup. A moment later, the brunette laughed. He couldn't stay mad at Toothless for long.

"I've got a surprise for you, Toothless," Hiccup said, smiling at the dog. "I'm gonna get you out of here. You'll be free again… just like you were before…" He tried really hard not to feel downcast, and was glad that his words came out with happiness.

Toothless didn't understand Hiccup's words, but he did pick up on the tone he used. Grinning sloppily, Toothless danced around, making Hiccup chuckle again. "Okay, bud…" He turned back to the rocks and walked over to tug the wooden plank down, which tugged the two ropes with it. Hiccup was pleased to find that the metal part of the pulley stayed attached to the rock.

"You're going to have to get on this plank, Toothless," Hiccup explained, pointing to the wooden surface. Toothless cocked his head, his pointy ears taut with confusion. Hiccup sighed. "Go on, now."

Toothless did not move.

"Come on, buddy." Hiccup gestured to the plank again. " _Sit_." He had been working on a few obedience tricks with Toothless lately, and hoped that the German Shepherd would understand. And Toothless indeed sat- but not on the plank. Just on the grass, to Hiccup's dismay.

Hiccup now patted the plank, trying to coax Toothless over. "Toothless… come here, bud… right over to you favorite guy, Hiccup, huh? It isn't that hard… you juuussstttt have to sit down over here… come on, you can do it…"

Toothless stubbornly stayed where he was. Hiccup was disappointed, but knew that Toothess just didn't understand what Hiccup wanted him to do. Hiccup hadn't really been over 'come' with the dog before, so it made sense that Toothless didn't know what to do now.

Then Hiccup remembered something. _Of course!_ Hiccup thought, face-palming. _I'm an idiot._

Turning around, Hiccup brought the fish out from his backpack. He could use it to draw Toothless onto the plank. The salmon got Toothless's attention, and his green eyes were hooked on it. Hiccup set the meal down on the plank, and Toothless immediately ran over to it, having to get on the plank to fully reach it.

Hiccup sighed in relief, then quickly went over to the other end of the rope. Toothless was bent over as he tore at the fish like some wild animal ( _he_ is _a wild animal_ , Hiccup remembered).

"Good boy," Hiccup complimented, taking hold of the rope slowly. "And I'm just standing here... minding my own business..." He gave the rope a little tug, testing out the weight and whether or not it would hold Toothless. The dog tensed at the sudden jerk, growling.

Hiccup released the pressure of the plank. "Hey, it's okay, Toothless," he said, taking a step back as Toothless turned his head to look at the boy. The fish was already half gone. Its torn body was a disgusting sight, and Hiccup averted his gaze away, trying to focus on the more important situation.

"Toothless," he began carefully. "Sit back down. Sit. _Sit_." Toothless had started to crawl off of the wood, but at Hiccup's words, he froze and plopped his bottom down.

Hiccup smiled, and Toothless, picking up on his happiness, gave a wolfish grin.

"Good boy," Hiccup repeated. "Now stay... _stay._ " He held out a flattened palm, the motion he had created for 'stay'. Toothless didn't move, to Hiccup's relief. "Okay, good. See, Toothless... if you sit there calmly while I pull on _this_ -" he patted his dangling end of the rope "-rope, I can pull you out of here. I know you're getting sick of the cove. I would too, if I were stuck in here. I get sick of my own house sometimes, because I'm tired of always being there. That's the part of the reason I came to camp, actually..." He realized that he was rambling, and cleared his throat. Toothless looked curious, hanging onto Hiccup's every word, even though he didn't understand much.

Hiccup said, "The point is, you're sick of being trapped, and I have a solution. Got it?"

Toothless gave a short _woof_ , which Hiccup took as a yes.

"Alright, then... hang on." Hiccup grasped the rope tighter, now pulling down. At the motion, a Toothless began to snarl, unnerved that the _ground_ was _moving_. He yelped, growing more frenzied by the second, and for a moment, Hiccup considered stopping. But he forced himself to go on, pulling as fast and as strong as he could.

It was hard to balance Toothless- especially because he was dancing around like he has just jumped in an ant hill and barking as if the Red Death was after him. He looked like he wanted to jump down, but by now, he was so high that he was too afraid to. Hiccup's anxiety turned to relief. It was working! The pulley was working!

And then he heard the groans.

The rope that was tugging up Toothless's board- it was straining to hold up the dog's weight. Though Toothless was lean, he was a big dog, and his weight was hard for the slight rope to hold up. Hiccup watched as the material began to thin with tautness. It was breaking apart. Hiccup inwardly cursed himself for not getting a stronger rope (the ones in Arts and Crafts _were_ flimsy, after all, he should've known better), and tugged his side of the rope down harder, ignoring the sting of his hands and the way his arms ached from the strain. Maybe he could get Toothless out of here before the rope snapped...

However, it was too late. With one final _SNAP_ , the rope broke. The plank began to fall, Toothless still clamping onto it for dear life.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried in fear, horrified of the sudden turn of events.

Hearing his friend's call, Toothless leapt from the board to the one safe place he knew: Hiccup's arms. With a large "OOMPHH!", Hiccup was slammed down to the ground because of Toothless's weight. He groaned as his back felt the impact. Yet _another_ bruise. He wondered how many injuries he had gained this year, and how many were to come.

The German Shepherd laying on top him had no intention to get off of the teen. He was still terrified from the fall, and clung to Hiccup shakily. "Buddy," Hiccup managed after a moment, trying to push the dog off of his chest, but Toothless didn't move. "It's okay. You can get off now" When Toothless continued to cling to him, Hiccup sighed and push himself to a sitting position, detaching Toothless's outstretched claws from his shirt and gently pushing him off of him.

He looked at the pile of wood and rope lying near the cove's wall. It was a battered sight, and truth be told, pitiful. He would have to start from scratch… but… but at least he knew what to do know. He knew what he had done wrong, and would fix it.

This was _something_ , after all. And something… well, something was better than nothing.

Hiccup, brushing himself off, climbed to his feet. There was work to do.

* * *

 **Just a quick note... I'm going on about a week-long vacation next week on Tuesday and won't be back till Monday night. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to write Camp Dragons with being that busy, so I'm just going to say you guys might get an extra update on Monday or Tuesday of next week if I can manage to whip up a chapter that quick, but another chance is that I won't and you'll have to wait two weeks. There's even a chance you guys might get a regular update next Friday- I don't know. We'll have to wait and see. Sorry guys! :-( Thank you all so much for your faves, follows, and feedback. If you could drop a review, that would be super cool. ;-)**


	8. Turning the Tables

**I know. I know.**

 ***covers face***

 **SHAME.**

 **I said two weeks... and I haven't updated for four. I'M SO SORRY. With all of my vacations, writers' block came along, and I just couldn't finish this chapter... I still have a bad case, so know that this chapter took a LOT of effort to write, and it is NOT my best work. I'm so sorry about not updating- I promise I never forget about this story. Writers' block is awful.**

 **Well... with that said, here's an extra long chapter for you patient people.**

 **Suggested story of the week: Midnight Misery by Spinofflady.**

* * *

 **Turning the Tables**

* * *

It was like a flame had been lit inside of Hiccup- one that could not be diminished by anything. Each waking hour, ideas and sketches of plans ran through his hands and fingers, followed by bright smiles to anyone who curiously questioned his cheery behavior. He couldn't stem his flow of euphoria. He was going to save Toothless. With this new purpose for life, he felt as if he could do anything, be anyone, and save the world.

Hiccup was constantly thinking about the pulley and how to improve it. It had taken time to track down the type of rope that Hiccup required, but he had eventually found one that suited his needs. The current problem was finding a big enough plank for Toothless to fit on. Apparently, the first one that had broken in the primary run had been the only plank left that would work for the pulley. He was now spending his free afternoons gluing pieces together to form a plant that would hold Toothless.

Now, however, it was morning, and therefore... training time. Gobber's exercises were growing more and more unbearable as the end of camp neared, and everyone could agree that he had- well- contracted "winning fever". In other words, he was just about obsessed with the prospect of the A-team winning the end of the camp challenge. The A-team hadn't won in half a dozen years. Gobber worked his campers over the limit until they felt like they would pass out from exhaustion. So Hiccup had a very good reason to be wary of his counsellor today.

Gobber was leading the team out into the woods once again, this time past the Fence. He had given no clue to what they would be doing today, but the campers had their guesses.

"I think that we're gonna go bungee-jumping," Tuffnut whispered, eyes wide, "off a _cliff_!"

"No," Snotlout scoffed. "More like, tame a rabid _wolf_."

The A-team all sniggered at that as they trudged through the trees. But Astrid shook her head, her smile quickly fading. "But, seriously guys... Gobber just wants to win. And I, for one, don't blame him."

"Neither do I," Hiccup piped in. "It'd be nice to win for a change."

Despite the fact that his team-mates more or less thought he had a taboo on him (what with the BB gun incident, injuring his knee, and, of course, much more of Hiccup's typical bad luck), they had to agree.

Gobber then turned around, hands clasped, and faced his campers. They were possibly deeper than they had ever been before in the woods, arousing many concerns in the A-team. "Well, here we are, Dragons! It's a beautiful day, isn't it? Well, alright, that's enough dilly-dallying- time fer training, now... got something special planned fer all o' yeh."

Snotlout groaned quietly.

"You've been wanting dangerous things," Gobber continued, "so danger, you'll get… I believe we've done nearly all o' the exercises… except one." He grinned wolfishly. " _Hunting_."

Hiccup swallowed. " _Hunting_?"

Fishlegs let out a squeak, his hands shaking.

"Yes, _hunting_. Earlier, I came out here and placed a bag of supplies somewhere… just over there, actually." He pointed to a nearby patch of trees, where a big black bag sat underneath a tree trunk. "Ready-made traps, nets, BB guns… though yeh've already found 'em before in that closet, we all know about that… and other knick-knacks that'll be helpful."

"Sir, what exactly are we supposed to _hunt_?" Astrid asked, her brow pinched together.

Gobber shrugged. "Anything, really. A squirrel, a rabbit, doesn't matter teh me. Now, yeh don't have teh _kill_ it. Just shoot it, is all."

Inside, Hiccup was horrified. He knew many of the consequences of shooting an animal. Toothless suffered them, after all. He didn't know if he could do this…

"Also," Gobber added. "This exercise counts for a sixth of your performance at Camp Dragons."

Hiccup's head reeled. Now, he _had_ to do this… or disappoint his father. He hadn't done too well this summer already. If shooting a squirrel was a sixth of his classification, then he might squirm by with a nice overall 'grade'. But if he didn't…

"Is this even legal?" Fishlegs inquired, a question every camper was wondering.

"Legal, schmegal! There are thousands o' squirrels!" replied Gobber merrily, answering everyone's query. Gobber was a bit of a maniac and didn't care much for rules. "Oh! An'[ remember _not to shoot_ yer guns at yer fellow campers. _Only_ the animals. An' again, try not teh kill. Now, once yeh catch something, or shoot another, call for me to come check it out, and then yeh're free to go for the day."

At first, Hiccup's heart sunk. This would take forever, then. He was horrible at everyth… wait, no, he wasn't. He had shot Toothless, he suddenly remembered, and hit him good. He wasn't a terrible shot after all. Maybe, just maybe, he could scrape through…

Soon, the A-team had their supplies. Ruffnut and Tuffnut mounted up on traps, liking nets and snares better than the carefulness one would need to use with guns. Astrid took a BB gun, and Snotlout, of course, followed her lead. Fishlegs loaded himself up with some snares, and Hiccup took a gun. After another lecture from Gobber, they set off to hunt.

Somehow, the campers ended up grouping together for the hunt. Occasionally, one of the twins or Fishlegs would stop to set up a trap, but they still continued on together, looking for an animal to be its victim. Hiccup was sure the A-team didn't want to do this, but no one spoke up.

"Look, a squirrel!" Tuffnut suddenly screamed, probably alerting every squirrel within a mile radius.

The squirrel he had spotted on a nearby tree bolted at his voice, vanishing within in the green. Everyone glared at Tuffnut for spooking it off, but he didn't seem to notice their scowls. "So close," he muttered instead.

However, a few minutes later, Astrid stopped the group with a harsh whisper of, " _Wait_." The group paused, not making a sound. Astrid carefully pointed a finger to the brush ahead, where a small rabbit was rustling around. Hiccup's heart sped up as he watched it. Astrid aimed her gun with a silent motion for the others to do the same. Hiccup obeyed, his hands shaking slightly. _What if he was the one to shoot it? He'd be praised..._ But then again… did he really _want_ to shoot it? Honestly… he-

 _KABAM!_ Snotlout shot his gun at the rabbit first, startling everyone. The gray animal looked up at the group, terrified, then began to ran. They hustled after it, trying not to lose it in the trees. Snotlout had missed the rabbit by several yards, to his embarrassment.

Astrid tried next, but she too missed by a few feet. To be fair both the the rabbit and she were running, but the fact still didn't change that the rabbit was still bolting ahead and unharmed.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted as the group ran after the animal. "You're the only other one with a cocked gun! Shoot!" Though she and Snotlout had guns, theirs weren't yet cocked- but Hiccup's was, giving him the extra advantage of time.

Hiccup fumbled to get a straight shot, but it was hard to balance the BB gun on his shoulder while running. At first, he thought that he had gotten it, but he had forgotten to turn off the darn children's lock!

"Come on, Hiccup!" someone angrily hollered at him.

"I'm trying!" he yelled back, groping for the safety lock switch. _Snap_. Good, it was off. Now, to aim… He set the sights of the rabbit, who was quickly disappearing into the woods. He only had seconds now… could he do it…?

"Oh, forget it, he can't do it."

"Hiccup the Useless, alright."

"Try again, Astrid!"

Hearing his team-mates say these things stirred something defiant inside of Hiccup, and before he knew it, he had aimed and fired. A loud shot rang throughout the forest for a few seconds, and there was a moment of confusion of what happened. But after the A-team had stopped running, they gasped at the scene that lay before them.

Hiccup had hit the rabbit. The blow hadn't been hard- it was just on a spot near its tail. The rabbit was twitching painfully on the ground, trying to hop away. Everyone was speechless, gazing in astonishment at Hiccup. He had actually _made_ the shot!

Behind them, Gobber broke through the trees to see what was the commotion. When he saw the rabbit dragging itself away, he grinned. "Who shot it?" he asked, looking at everyone expectantly… though Hiccup slightly felt that he was glanced over.

" _Hiccup_ did," Astrid managed, glancing over at Hiccup with a sort of disgusted fascination.

Gobber's eyebrows shot up. "H… Hiccup…?"

The group was suddenly quiet, Hiccup felt quite awkward. Biting his lip, he took a small step back, swinging his arms around uncomfortably. "Okay… so are we done here? Because I've got some things I need to… yeah..." He trailed off as he jogged away from sight behind the trees.

Astrid blinked, then scowled. This wasn't right. Hiccup wasn't a winner. _She_ was. How had he been the one to place first- with _her_ in the group, nonetheless. There was something going on here…

* * *

"Yes!" Hiccup cried to himself. He was in the Arts and Crafts station, and had just finished the pulley again. It had taken days, but this model was a lot stronger than the first one and he was 90% sure that it would work. Or maybe 85% sure… well, anyways, he knew that he was getting somewhere.

Quickly, he wrapped it up in a towel, then hustled outside to go to the woods. Trying not to look suspicious, he slipped into the forest, running as fast as he could- which involved a lot of tripping over his own feet. But eventually, he reached the cove and made his way down the rock ledge, smiling.

"Toothless, bud, I think I've got it right this time," he said, glancing around the cove to look for the dog. The German Shepherd soon appeared, his head cocked curiously. Hiccup unwrapped the pulley so Toothless could see it. He regarded it with a wary sniff. "Aw, come on, bud, this'll get you out of here…" He walked over to the rocks so he could set up the pulley, and this time, it only took a few minutes to set it up. Brushing his hands off, he turned back to Toothless. "Alright, Toothless, c'mere…"

Toothless backed away, his eyes dancing with mischief. Hiccup took a step forward, and was dismayed with Toothless inched back from him again. The teen started to hurry after him, but Toothless was just too quick. Groaning, he yelled, "Toothless! Come on!"

But Toothless's past experience with the pulley gave him a reason to stay away. Not even looking back, he dashed off before Hiccup could catch him. Sighing, Hiccup stopped running, and slapped his forehead, giving up. Well, this wouldn't work… hmm… maybe Toothless would be more compliant tomorrow…

* * *

Toothless was just as stubborn as the day before when Hiccup came back after a long morning of training. Instead of going near the pulley as Hiccup requested, the dog simply sat by the lake, tail swishing as he gazed into its depths. Hiccup sat down beside him with a sigh and watched his friend curiously. "Whatcha doing there, Toothless?" he asked, noticing Toothless's observant manner.

Suddenly, Toothless barked at the water, sounding furious. He dunked his head down in the liquid, then pulled it back out again. Without hesitation, he bolted for the other side of the cove's lake. Hiccup was stunned. What was Toothless doing…?

When Toothless reached the other end, he jumped in the lake and disappeared beneath the watery ripples. Hiccup would've been concerned if not for Toothless coming up only a moment later, a small fish in his mouth as he paddled back to shore.

Hiccup's mouth fell open at the sight. "You… you scared the fish away to the other side so you'd be able to catch one… but… how…?" He gaped at Toothless as he gnawed on his treat… there was an idea forming in his mind.

* * *

Days of hard training went by until Gobber announced that they would finally do a long fishing trip- but they would be waking up at 6AM to do it. Those who had wanted to fish in the first place immediately rebelled, but Gobber was adamant about the time. "It's when the fish come fer their breakfast," he said, but Hiccup wasn't as assured that Gobber wasn't just torturing his campers as he'd liked to be.

The A-team all gathered near a small fishing pond, shivering in the early morning temperature. They tended to huddle close together at the edge of the water, fishing rods out in quivering hands. Snotlout and Tuffnut constantly complained, wanting to go back to bed.

"I could catch a fish any day of the week," Snotlout spat, "but in the _daytime_. Not 6:30AM in the morning!"

Tuffnut scowled. " _Yeah_. This _sucks_."

Meanwhile, Hiccup's brain was coming alive with each minute of being awake. Fishing… he knew a secret… a good secret… that'd help… but… but… but what? He couldn't quite recall what to-

With a smile, he remembered Toothless's trick. Scaring the fish away to another part of the lake- or pond in this instance. He glanced at his team-mates, who stood sleepily on a solo part of the pond, shoving each other to get the front spot. They had certainly frightened off any fish near them. Pensive, he slipped away from the group to the other side of the pond and positioned himself there. The others didn't notice, too busy bickering in their irritation of being woken up this early.

Within minutes, he had caught a fish. A bass that was nearly _three feet_ long. Grinning, Gobber patted him on the back with a sort of pride in the teenager. "I always said yeh'd do great, didn't I, Hiccup?" The others stared in wonder. Hiccup had been first _again_?

"Well, Hiccup, it's only _one_ ," Astrid said, almost hastily, reeling in her line, then casting it back out again. She was determined to catch more fish than Hiccup. _She_ deserved to win. She had worked for it this whole summer… and had almost got there, too. She wanted to be the solo camper who got to compete.

Within their remaining hour of training, Hiccup had caught a total of six fish- four more than Astrid's ending sum. By the end of the fishing trip, the whole group was fascinated by him. Except Astrid, who was livid. Ever the competitor, she always expected herself to win. Especially against _Hiccup_. Burning with anger and shame, she glared at the boy as he once again made another excuse to go and dashed away to wherever he went during the afternoons.

Well, one thing was for sure.

Whatever friendship Astrid felt towards Hiccup was gone.

* * *

When Hiccup arrived at the cove later that day, he decided that he wouldn't force Toothless to go on the pulley. For now. Instead, he decided to have a little fun and play a game of ball with him. As soon as the red toy was out of his backpack, Toothless's mind was only on the game.

Hiccup threw it for Toothless over and over again, until his arms hurt. And legs. Sometimes, Toothless wouldn't bring the ball back to him- he'd just run off somewhere and start gnawing on it, causing Hiccup to have to go after him and wrestle for the toy. By the time it was time to leave, the ball was bleeding styrofoam and covered with saliva and bitemarks. Hiccup didn't know if he'd ever want to touch that thing again.

Right now, Toothless had the ball… but he was clearly not going to let Hiccup have it. Every time the brunette neared, he'd dash off, wagging his half-tail.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried after a particular daring escape from the dog. "I need to go back to camp now! It's sunset! Give me the ball."

Toothless did not.

Hiccup began to chase after him, but Toothless was too quick. Now, Hiccup didn't really care about the ball- it was tearing apart, anyways- but the fact that Toothless was being naughty, and the dog knew it himself, was aggravating. For once, Hiccup wanted to be in control of something. Have someone actually respect him. Not even a dog was giving him the time of day- and Hiccup… he had finally had enough. He needed to show who was boss.

So he stopped running, crossed his arms, and glared down at Toothless. Play-time was over. The German Shepherd sensed the change in his friend and slowly padded to a stop a few yards away from Hiccup, red ball still clutched in his jaws.

"Toothless," Hiccup growled. "I need to go. Give me the ball."

Toothless's tail stopped wagging. Hiccup took a step forward, his arms still crossed against his chest.

"Drop it," he said to the dog, pointing his finger down at him. After one long moment, Toothless let the ball fall from his mouth and onto the ground. He even went a step further and sat, looking scolded and submissive. Hiccup could hardly believe it. Finally, he had gotten Toothless to listen to him! Not even that- a wild animal to obey him, the walking fish-bone! And all he needed to do was seem in command and in control of the situation.

He'd keep that in mind.

* * *

The next day, Gobber had two groups sent out into the woods. They were to collect certain samples of leaves, berries, flowers, and other pieces of nature in a slot of one hour. One group was made up of Hiccup, Snotlout, and Astrid, while the other was of Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut.

"Ugh, this is _sooo_ boring," Snotlout complained, kicking a root as he walked. "I could be doing way better stuff than this."

"Such as?" Astrid prompted in an equally dull tone.

"I don't know. Playing games. Winning games. Playing sports. Winning sports. Being _me_."

Hiccup awkwardly shoved his hands in his jean pockets. "Guys, we've really got to get a move on with these samples… they won't collect themselves, and we've only got about twenty minutes left."

Astrid shot Hiccup an unnecessary glare that left poor Hiccup wondering what he'd done wrong. Snotlout too rolled his eyes, but sighed, "Fine. Let's get this over with… what are we even supposed to be looking for? Nuts and berries? Maybe shake it up a little with some berries and nuts?"

Hiccup fumbled to get the list of what they were supposed to get from his pocket. "Well, I think the first thing on the list was a pinecone… we already picked up one of those… the next was-"

"Hiccup," said Astrid in a dangerously calm voice than made him freeze. Everything about her voice spelled danger. Something was wrong. He slowly lifted his head to see what was the problem. "Just a few yards away from us is a… there's a… a…"

" _Bear_ ," Hiccup finished in a breath, feeling faint.

He was right. A small black-colored bear had just waddled out of the trees, now frozen, and was staring at the three with narrowed eyes. Snotlout looked like he could pass out from fear, Astrid was tense and pale, and Hiccup was somewhere between their expressions of fright.

"Wha- whaddowedo?" Snotlout squeaked in the quietest voice he could muster. The bear, which sat a mere three yards from them, took a menacing step forward, grunting- as if it were testing to see whether they were prey or not.

Hiccup's mind raced for an answer. He could remember Gobber saying something about what to do when faced with a bear, but he couldn't remember. His mind was too fuzzy with fear.

Astrid swallowed. "I can't remember a thing right now about what to do. Anyone else?"

"No," Hiccup murmured, his eyes locked on the black bear in front of him. But… huh… That bear sort of reminded him of Toothless. Black fur, same kind of stature… a wild animal that wouldn't obey anyone… wait… no… _yes_ … That was it! Yesterday, with the ball, and Toothless… His head cleared. He knew what to do.

"Guys, I remember now!" Hiccup said in an excited tone. "This is a black bear, I think- and they're scared away when they feel they're outnumbered, or if their opponent is larger or more frightening. We have to act bigger than the bear!"

Snotlout whimpered, "B-bu-but what if it's not a black bear? What if it's another type?"

"...then we play dead, I think… and hope for the best. Snotlout, I know you don't think much of me, but you have to trust me in this… you too, Astrid… this is the only idea we've got..."

Astrid and Snotlout glanced at each other, then nodded. They'd trust Hiccup… it was their last hope.

The bear growled and inched forward, baring its teeth. Snotlout started to back away, but Hiccup caught his arm and shook his head. Running away was the last thing they should do.

"Ready, guys?" Hiccup whispered.

The other two inclined their heads. "Yes," said Astrid.

"Okay… now!" Hiccup stood up straighter, puffed out his chest, and put on a fierce scowl as he gazed down at the black bear. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Go away!" He took a step forward, ignoring his screaming instincts to run away and hide in a safe little hole where no one could find him.

"Yeah!" Snotlout added, a nervous tic throbbing in his eye. He copied Hiccup. "You're not allowed to be here! _We_ are! Git!" He kicked at the dirt in emphasis. The bear shrunk away a bit, taken aback at the change of attitude.

It was Astrid's turn to join in the yelling. "You think you can mess with us? Well, here's some news for you- we're _Dragons_. And Dragons can defeat _anything_. Including bears!" The three teenagers formed a sort of human barrier, blocking the bear off from going any further. By now, the animal was wary of them, and was backing away into the forest. Hiccup, Astrid, and Snotlout started yelling together, and even starting to throw small twigs at the animal and kick up clouds of dirt. Soon, the bear had scrambled away into the woods, intimidated.

Astrid and Snotlout turned to Hiccup incredulously after they were all sure they were safe. "We did it!" Snotlout cheered, for once, his hate of his cousin overpowered by his joy that he had survived- and courtesy of Hiccup, nonetheless. "Hiccup- you saved our _lives_."

Hiccup shrugged, almost bashfully. "Well, the bear wasn't _too_ big… you guys could've gotten away, I guess, without too many injuries…"

"Stop being so modest! You're, well- a hero!"

"Thanks, Hiccup," said Astrid cooly towards him, for some reason not even seeming pleased that she was still alive. "Well, we'd better get back to camp… Gobber will understand our incompetence about not finishing the scavenger hunt." With that, she turned on her heel and left the boys standing, dumbfounded. Hiccup was beyond confused. He had just saved her life. Why did she seem so angry with him?

An oblivious Snotlout grinned. "Oh, boy, wait till we tell the others what happened….! We scared away a _bear_ , Hiccup! A _bear_!"

* * *

Later that evening, suppertime came. Hiccup walked through the doors of the Great Hall, unaware of the awed stares of the other campers that followed him. After getting his dinner, he went and sat down at his vacant table, then lifted a ham sandwich to his mouth.

He was stunned when a little less than a dozen campers raced over to his place and started bombarding him with questions and praise.

"Did you really defeat that _bear_?"

"I heard that he fought it with his bare hands!"

"No, he fought it _one-handed_!"

"I always said that Hiccup wasn't so bad, didn't I? Didn't I?"

The rest of the night, it seemed, all of Camp Dragons wanted an audience with the now-famous Hiccup Haddock. Hiccup retold the story of scaring away the bear (maybe adding in a bit more danger to earn more admiration) so many times that he was getting a little sick of it. But not sick of the wide-eyed expressions and words of praise that came from the other campers.

He could get used to this.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup got Toothless out of the cove.

It took a lot of yelling, pleading, threatening, and a bit of Hiccup's intimidation trick, but Toothless finally skulked back onto the pulley's plank. He was clearly wary of it, as the last time he had been on it, he had fallen. But this time, it went surprisingly smooth, and Hiccup managed to pull Toothless up without either of them falling down. After Toothless had dropped off on the earth above, Hiccup scrambled up the rock ledge, determined to see the dog one last time before he ran away… The thought made his chest hollow and breath labored. No more afternoon trips to the cove… no more of seeing Toothless's eager face… no more complaining about Toothless's drool… no more laughing about Toothless's silly antics... no more _Toothless_ … It felt like he had just lost a best friend. No- like he had just lost a brother...

"Well, bud," Hiccup said quietly once he reached the top. Toothless was sniffing around the dirt, ignorant of Hiccup's solemnity. "I guess this is… goodbye." _Ouch_. Saying that word _really_ hurt… "Well… take care of yourself. Make sure that that tail of yours doesn't get infected… I wrapped it earlier, I know, and have been cleaning it for the past few weeks… but I don't want you getting sick. You've got a whole life left to live. You'll meet some nice girl dog and settle down, and have a bunch of pups who'll roam the forest like you did. Yeah." Hiccup sniffed. "Like you'll do again."

Toothless looked up at Hiccup, his eyes distant. _Have I already lost him?_ Hiccup wondered. He took a step forward, holding a hand out to pet the dog one last time. "I'll… I'll see you around, then. Maybe."

Toothless allowed Hiccup to pat his head, looking confused. When Hiccup then turned to walk away, he woofed snappily. Where did he think he was going? Hiccup pivoted around to look at Toothless, surprised.

"What?" he said. "You're out, you're free to go. Go on. Leave." He waved a hand out in emphasis of his command. "Go!"

Toothless plopped down, refusing to budge.

"I said _go_ , Toothless! Don't you _understand_? The Red Death- or whatever horrible creature is out there- will _kill you_ if you stay trapped. _Kill you_. Toothless… I shot you before. _I_ almost killed you. I mean- what if I _had_ killed you? What if we never knew each other? Had a friendship? Toothless- you're my… my _only_ friend. My _best_ friend… I know you're a dog, and maybe you don't even understand a word I'm saying- but, Toothless, you've always been there for me when I've needed you, and that's something no one else has ever really done… or tried. I… I couldn't bear it if I'd known that you died because of me. So go on now, bud- go somewhere safe." Hiccup was panting by the end of his monologue, his eyes stinging. He stumbled back to walk away from the broken scene, his mind buzzing. _Toothless was gone now. He'd never see him again. Toothless is gone. He'll never see him again. Toothless is-_

A might bark came from behind him, and suddenly, Toothless scrambled up to trail after him as he walked. Hiccup, stunned at the sight, stopped, and so did Toothless. The German Shepherd seemed stern about his decision. Hiccup would not leave. And if he did, Toothless would come with him. They were best friends, and best friends would do anything for each other.

"I… but Toothless, I…"

Toothless turned and began to walk away. Hiccup stared after him, confused, until Toothless looked over his shoulder at him, impatient. _Hurry up!_ he seemed to say.

A small smile broke through Hiccup's lips. He jogged after his friend and into the woods. To explore, to walk, or to just enjoy the nice day, he did not know. But he followed.

* * *

A few days passed, and Hiccup's good luck continued to stay until everyone at camp wanted to be his friend. Hiccup was a little uncomfortable at the new and positive attention, and he always disappeared after training to go visit Toothless, who waited for him by the cove. Their friendship was a safe haven away from all of the chaos.

As Hiccup and Toothless explored the woods one afternoon, Hiccup stumbled upon a river. It was fast flowing and ran through the forest to no end that Hiccup could see. Strangely, it fascinated him. Hiccup decided to see where it led, and whistled for Toothless to follow him. The river led on for twenty to thirty minutes or so before emptying out in a large lake. _Raven's Point_ , Hiccup remembered, recalling having seen it on a map of Camp Dragons somewhere. Cocking his head, he studied it curiously...

* * *

The next day of training was a kayak race to _Raven's Point,_ which would be guided by the vast _Thor River._ Everyone on the A-team participated, and sized each other up to who would win and who would lose. Meanwhile, a plan was spinning inside of Hiccup's head… one that would lead on his fortunate luck. Gobber went ahead to the end of the lake to wait for his campers, and blew a whistle half-way down to signify they could start paddling. Hiccup worked as hard as he could, but he was still dead last as the campers kayaked through the forest.

As soon as the other Blacksmiths and Weapons were out of sight, Hiccup stopped his boat and pulled it out of the water. He then dragged it through the woods and to the other river he had found the day before with Toothless. He whistled for the dog, and it was only a few moments before Toothless appeared. Hiccup allowed his friend to jump inside of the kayak, and soon, they were sailing down the river, flowing at a more rapid pace than the other water passageway. With the river's strong current, Hiccup barely had to paddle, and just enjoyed laughing at Toothless, who had propped his front legs up against the front of the boat and was barking at the water spray.

All too soon, they neared _Raven's Point_ , and Toothless had to disembark. After Toothless was safely back in the woods, Hiccup pulled into the lake in a discreet manner, and paddled along the shores until he reached the entrance of the first river. Gobber, who had been dozing on a rock, exclaimed with pride when he saw that Hiccup was the first one back. Hiccup gladly accepted the praise, not even feeling guilty at the fact that he had, in a sense, cheated.

His companions arrived a few minutes later, saturated with sweat and ready to drop. They were stunned to see Hiccup, feet propped up on a rock, casually sipping a Coke next to Gobber.

Astrid nearly fell out of her kayak, she was so surprised. _Hiccup_ was the first one back? But how? She would've seen him pass her... wouldn't she? Astrid paddled up to Gobber and Hiccup, practically burning with hate. The others soon appeared behind her, not even nearly as shocked that Hiccup was the winner... yet again. Fishlegs cheered, and Tuffnut even clapped.

"I think we've found our winner for today," Gobber said cheerily, patting Hiccup on the back. "We'll rest here fer a bit, then head back to camp. Outta yer boats, let's hurry now..."

The A-team paddled their kayaks to the shore, then got out when they could sail no further. They then pulled their boats from the water and onto shore, groaning with exhaustion. Astrid still clenched her paddle in her hands, too angry to let go as she glowered at Hiccup.

The others stood behind her, also staring at the brunette, but with awe instead of bitterness.

Tuffnut, who was standing next to Astrid, sniggered, "Wow! He's better than you ever were!"

An ugly glare lay on Astrid's face, and it seemed to always be there when Hiccup was around. _Hiccup_. How was he so _good_ all the sudden? It wasn't right. Not natural. Something… something was going on. Something wasn't as it seemed. As she gripped the kayak paddle even tighter in her hands, she swore an unbreakable promise to herself.

She would find out what Hiccup was up to... and soon.


	9. Changes

**Suggested story of the week: The Imposter by harrypanther**

* * *

 **Changes**

* * *

Stoick was in a bad mood.

No- that didn't cut it. He was in a _foul_ mood. Malicious mood. Downright, _rotten_ mood. And he had a good reason to be. He hadn't gotten the job he had been hoping to receive, and that alone was a huge letdown. He had been so confident in himself that rejection hadn't come to mind. And to top off to that mess, sightings of the "Red Death" had been recorded more times in these past few weeks than they had in the past few years (though of course the campers hadn't been told of this, though the counsellors had been told to tell their campers to stay inside camp bounds). If someone didn't do something about that cursed animal, the camp could be shut down for "safety hazards". Ha! In his day, safety hazards were only alerted when someone died. Nobody had been killed yet. Camp Dragons was doing just _fine_ …

Still, as Stoick entered the front gate of his camp, there was an ugly scowl on his face. Anybody who saw him quickly turned away and minded their own business. Because everybody knew not to mess with Stoick "the Vast" if they could avoid it.

The first one who had the courage to welcome Stoick back was Gobber, of course, Stoick's best friend since boyhood. Whether he was oblivious to the expression hiss boss wore, or just didn't care, no one could quite tell.

"Stoick, ol' friend!" Gobber acknowledged with a broad grin. "How did it go? Yeh get the job?"

Stoick continued marching on, not even stopping to talk. "Not even close. Those injuns up at corporate always had it in for me…"

"O' course, o' course… well, I s'pose you've heard about the Red Death situation…"

"I have. How's that working out?"

"Fine so far… I mean, no one's been injured… yet." Stoick didn't like his friend's pause, but someone interrupted their conversation as they came up to Stoick. It was Mulch, one of the camp chefs.

"Stoick!" Mulch cried. "Ah, you must be _so_ relieved about Hiccup. I mean, the whole camp is! Well, anyways, I've got to get back to work for planning the celebration for tomorrow!"

From behind him, a lady named Phlegma said, "We're having a party for the campers! Be there!", then rushed off.

Still, another man beside _her_ chuckled, "Out with the old and in with the new, they always say. Same about that Hiccup!" He followed Phlegma to wherever she was going.

Stoick stared after them, stunned. Had something bad happened to his son…? It was no secret that Hiccup wasn't exactly _built_ for camp activities. Stoick had seen him attempt to do a pushup, then collapse on his face. Yes, he wasn't material for hard work, and truth be told, his father didn't expect him to do well at Camp Dragons… though, of course, he hoped. Had Hiccup been hurt in one of the training exercises?

"Where's… Hiccup?" Stoick asked, almost dreading the answer.

"Well." Gobber licked his lips. "He's gone."

" _Gone_?!" Stoick repeated, alarmed. Oh, gosh-

Gobber nodded casually. "Well, most afternoons. The life of a celebrity isn't always easy. He hides away somewhere in the woods, probably off shootin' squirrels or scarin' away more bears." Gobber smiled, as if the mention were a fond old memory. "Oh, that was a great time…"

"Scaring off bears- Gobber, _what are you talking about_?"

"Hiccup, of course!" said Gobber. "He's… changed. He's at the top of all his training classes now. All the kids want to sit with 'im at meals. It's extraordinary, Stoick. Truly extraordinary. One day, he's nearly failing… the next, he's the first one to complete the exercise. And his performance has been improving even more. I think Camp Dragons is the right place for him. Should o' sent him here years ago, eh?"

Slack in the jaw, Stoick could only stare off into the distance as his mind processed this new revelation. Was this real? ...could he really hope...? Had Hiccup _finally_ showed _some_ promise? Well… the only thing he could do right now was wait to see his son… whenever he got back.

For the first time in some months… Stoick was actually proud of Hiccup.

* * *

"Where… are you… taking me?" Hiccup grunted as he followed Toothless up the rocks. "C'mon, bud, it's stifling hot out here… do we really have to do this much exertion."

Toothless barked imperiously from the ledge he was standing on, not liking Hiccup's complaining. He turned back around, then jumped to another rock. With a sigh, Hiccup continued climbing. Bossed around by a dog again. Wouldn't his father be so proud…

"Look, Toothless… I know you've been running around this forest- and maybe even this mountain- for years. But it's just a mountain. Or rather, cliffs. Why do you insist on going up here? And why am I following you? Ugh… oh well. At least it's a break from all of that popularity at camp… don't get me wrong, it's great that people have stopped ignoring me and are being nice. But sometimes they can be a bit… overbearing? It's just hard to handle. Sometimes, I just prefer the quiet. I'm used to it. Anyways, I wonder if you've ever been up here before. Probably, as you seem to know the way. Maybe you lived up here? No, that'd be some hike down. It's already a long way up. Hmm… maybe some food source up here, then. Or maybe just sheer curiosity. If I was living next to a mountain, I'd want to explore it, too. Something new for a change…" He trailed off as he climbed some more. It took up a lot of energy scrambling up this mountainside (he had to be careful, as some of the ledges were very fragile), and he didn't want to use any more of his supply by rambling on.

Minutes passed in silence, and Toothless kept climbing- and Hiccup kept following him, for some crazy reason. But there was nothing better to do, and he was curious. The perfect combination for adventure… or trouble.

Soon, Hiccup had broken a sweat and was panting. Climbing up a cliff was harder than it looked like! He had nearly fallen multiple times by now, making his stomach churn and his head spin with dizziness. He had never been afraid of heights, but certainly feared crashing into the ground from a high spot.

After he had found a ledge to temporarily rest on, Hiccup swiped his forehead, breathing heavily. How long would they be climbing until they reached the top? He glanced up, and saw that the summit of the cliff was not too far away, but it was too steep to see what was on the other side. Toothless was slowly making his way up to it, jumping from ledge to ledge as if he knew this place like his backhand. Or paw. Hiccup almost lost hope then. A dog was tougher than he was. Perfect.

"Toothless, wait up!"

He began to scramble up the cliff again, wary that little rocks pitter-pattered off of the ledges if he stayed on them too long.

Within another minute or two, he had almost reached the top. Toothless had disappeared behind some rise of rock on the top of the cliff, and Hiccup was hurrying to catch up to him.

"Toothless, bud! Come on! Why'd I ever follow you up here… well, I'm closer to the top than the bottom… might as well get him before I go back down…"

Finally- _finally_ \- he reached the top. Barely standing, he stumbled around the block of rock that covered where Toothless was hiding. He looked down to see that his shirt was smudged with dirt and grime, and grumbling, began to brush it off as he walked. "Aargh, thanks for nothing, you useless canine…"

And then he looked up.

He nearly fell down at the view from his vantage spot. An expanse of trees spread out like butter on bread, reaching so far that Hiccup couldn't see the end of it. He could see lakes and little clearings in the middle of it, too, as well as the occasional animal scrambling by. And wow- only a little ways away, a lone _moose_ was grazing through! He had never seen one, and was in awe of its humongous size, even though he was pretty far from it. The sun beamed down at the world, but for once, the heat was nice, not the sweltering, oppressive burn he had felt nearly every day this summer. It was only until Hiccup was gasping for air that he realized that he had held his breath at the amazing sight up here.

"Wow," Hiccup breathed, leaning back against the cliff wall as he took in the sight. "This is really something... isn't it, Toothless?" he asked his friend. The dog, who sat a few feet away from him, looked up and gave a small yip. "Yep. Amazing. I don't regret coming up here anymore, even if I sweated away half my body weight… I mean… I feel like up here, I can do _anything_. I'm at the top of the world… I'm alive…" He allowed a grin of relief to stretch across his face. "...and I am _free_ …"

Toothless sighed heavily.

"I know, I know… dramatic. But it's true. Feels like we're flying, almost. I used to always want to fly when I was a little kid, and had an obsession with dragons… still do. No- I mean, I still want to fly… I don't have an obsession with dragons, of course… heheh… Well, I'll tell you, Toothless… this is as close as it gets to flying."

He nodded in content, and settled his back against the rock, still standing up as he gazed upon the land below him. He could stay like this forever… and he did, for a little while, maybe ten, twenty, or even thirty minutes. He just stood there in a companionable silence between him and his dog.

Suddenly, Toothless gave a loud whimper, and Hiccup was startled to realize that he had been giving soft whines in the past ten minutes or so. He had brushed them off, his thoughts too loud to hear much of anything that was going on in the real world, but Toothless seemed _really_ agitated now.

Hiccup turned around to look at the dog, and was surprised to find the German Shepherd lying at the foot of the rock, appearing exhausted. Hiccup was confused. Toothless was never like this. He was always prancing around like he was some alpha of the forest. Yeah, right… Hiccup was a bit concerned, to tell the truth.

"You okay, Toothless?" Hiccup asked, squatting down so he could look at his friend better.

Toothless ducked his head down with a whinnied sigh of defeat. He shifted a little, then yelped, as if moving was hurting him. Hiccup wondered if the climb had someone hurt or exhausted Toothless. He hoped not.

Sitting down beside the dog, Hiccup stroked his black fur in comfort, murmuring comfort and even ignoring the scene outside. Toothless was more important. He examined him to see if there were any obvious injuries, but he found none…

None but one.

An idea struck his mind. Toothless's tail. Though it had healed nicely over this past month, it was still constantly exposed, as Toothless loved jumping into dirty lakes and running wild in the woods. Had it been infected, maybe? Hiccup changed it regularly once he had started the friendship between him and Toothless, but he had kind of dwindled out on checking up on the dog, as he thought the injury would've cleared up by now. But maybe not.

Hurriedly, Hiccup reached down to take the bandage from Toothless's stub. As soon as he touched it, the German Shepherd growled and snapped at his human. Hiccup backed off for a moment, but knew that infection was a fast and deadly thing. If being bit by Toothless would save his friend, then so be it. He kept at it.

Long minutes, and many growls later, the bandage had finally been removed, revealing the remains of Toothless's torn tail. Hiccup hissed at what he saw. The end of the stub was red and irritated, and even a bit of yellow pus was dribbling out. It looked bad. Not horrible, which Hiccup was grateful for, but he had heard stories of how fast infection worked through the body… maybe even quicker on dogs.

"Toothless… why did you… why'd you come up here when your tail...," said Hiccup worriedly. "Bud, it looks bad. There's a growing infection. I… I'll need to take you to my cabin to clean it up. No one will be there, as it's about dinnertime. Yeah… I'll just skip the meal while we sneak into camp… you know, at the beginning of the year, I never thought I'd ever smuggle a dog into Camp Dragons..." He smiled, but the seriousness of the situation pulled his lips back into a frown. "Alright, Toothless, let's go…"

It was a slow going down the cliff, as Toothless was in pain and his grumpiness didn't make it any easier.

But one time, as they passed what looked to be a cave, the dog started barking like mad, eyes narrowed into slits with rage and fury. He clamped his jaws down on the bottom Hiccup's jeans and tried to drag him away from the place as if a demon had possessed him. It took quite a few minutes to get him to calm down, and Toothless was even more exhausted after his episode. Hiccup was very confused. What had set Toothless off so badly? It was just a cave... dark and mysterious... but a cave, nonetheless... of course it was... nothing more...

He didn't have time to think about it, though it crossed his mind several times. Maybe it was just the infection hurting him… could it create delirium?

Nearly a half hour later, the pair reached the ground. By then, Hiccup was practically dragging Toothless across the ground. Their journey was only half over. They still had to make it back to camp… but Hiccup couldn't just waltz in carrying Toothless in his arms! He needed to be hidden.

...luckily, he had a plan.

* * *

Hiccup slid into Camp Dragons' bounds, a few yards away from a cabin, with a bundle of towels in his arms. He glanced around to see if anybody was watching, and then continued walking. His arms shook and drooped, and it looked like the towels he was holding were a heavy load. Slowly, he made his way over to his cabin, looking pained. One step, two steps, three steps, four… come on, come on, he could make it… just a couple of steps away now…

"Hey, Hiccup!"

He froze in his tracks, blood abruptly turning ice cold with terror.

"Ohhhh… um… h-hey, Snotlout…"

He still didn't turn around, fearing that his cousin would see Toothless hidden beneath the cloth- his paws could still be seen dangling from the towels if one looked right-, and he heard footsteps approach from behind him. Then Snotlout walked around to face the other boy with a cocky grin on his face. "So. What's up?"

"Up? N-nothing's _up_ … why- why would you think that?"

Confused, Snotlout's gaze trickled down to the shivering towels in Hiccup's arms. "What are those?"

 _Oh no. No. Why?!_

"T-these?" Hiccup stammered as he shifted the towels. Toothless was growling at Snotlout's boisterous presence, and his human silently willed him to keep quiet. "Oh. Yeah. Well… they're… well, you see… they're…"

"Yeah?" said Snotlout.

Hiccup blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "...Bear… traps…"

Snotlout looked shocked. "Bear traps?"

"Yeah, um… how else do you think I… k-kill stuff?" Hiccup cursed himself at the questioning lilt of his voice. "Anyways… yeah… bear traps… it's how I study them so I can… fight them off…?" He hoped that sounded plausible, as his arms were aching with Toothless's weight and he really wanted to just go inside and get his job done.

Fortunately, Snotlout seemed to buy it. His eyes gleamed knowingly, and he smirked. "Bear traps! I never would've guessed. Haha!" He slapped Hiccup's shoulder a few times, nearly causing him to nearly drop his dog. "Can I see?"

" _NO_!" Hiccup shouted, so frantic that he sounded harsher than he meant to. Snotlout looked suspicious, and his cousin quickly amended his words. "I mean… well, it's a secret. A trade secret. I can't go around telling everyone… um… maybe I'll show you sometime- but _not_ today… got to get to… hunting stuff..."

Snotlout nodded, his wariness fading. "I see… as long as you show me _sometime_. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone once I learn the secret. We'll keep this a _family_ business."

"Good. But the thing is, Snotlout…" Hiccup lowered his voice. "You can't tell anyone about seeing me with these now, okay? No one. Do you understand?"

Snotlout nodded eagerly. "Yeah. No one. Can't tell a soul, won't tell a soul. Don't worry, Hiccup. Your secret's safe with me." Words Hiccup never thought he'd hear, but he was pleased, nonetheless.

"Thanks."

His cousin, with a last sly wink, turned around then began running back to the campfire with the other campers he had been hanging out with. "Hey, Tuff!" Hiccup heard him shout. "You'll never believe this…!"

As his voice faded out with distance, Hiccup rolled his eyes, adjusting Toothless in his arms. Well, at least no one would ask questions about his load if he was spotted walking around with a bundle of towels in his arms with this new rumor that was sure to spread like wildfire. Still, some kids might be curious enough to want to check it out, so he had to be careful while inside of his cabin.

Quickly, he entered, and immediately set Toothless down on the bed. After telling the dog to stay there, he went into the bathroom and retrieved a wash cloth that was dipped in some water. He'd need to clean the wound before bandaging it. He came back out into the main room to see Toothless peeking his nose from the towels he had stolen from the supplies room before bringing him into camp.

"Hey, bud," Hiccup said, sitting down on his bunk beside him. "This is going to hurt… I'm gonna be touching your tail for a bit, but you'll feel better afterwards." And he set to work.

Toothless whined the whole time, but refrained himself from biting Hiccup. The boy hurried with his job, hating having to hurt someone he cared for, and was soon content that he had cleaned the injury well enough. He didn't know too much about infection, but was glad he had caught it in an early stage. He deemed, with the proper rest and care, Toothless would be back to himself in no time.

Hiccup still kept him at his cabin for awhile. He wanted to wait until suppertime to bring Toothless back to the cove so no one would see him leave. For now, he just silently read a book next to Toothless who was still completely covered in blankets (in case someone walked in) and asleep. All was relatively calm, to Hiccup's relief, so it was a surprise when he heard the cabin door be thrown open, and someone push their way inside, nearly knocking over a small desk in the other corner in the process.

He looked up to see who it was, and his eyes widened with shock at the sight.

"Dad!" said Hiccup, seeing his father hulking just a few feet away from him. He jerkily put an arm on top of the pile of towels where his dog was under. He had felt him awaken when the door opened, and hoped he wouldn't react. "You're back! Hi. Good to see y… Um- Gobber's not here right now…"

Stoick nodded. "I know. I came looking for you."

"You- you did?"

"You've been keeping secrets," Stoick said sternly, his face as stoic as his name.

Hiccup paled, momentarily forgetting about Toothless. He barely moved in front of the towels in time to cover up the dog moving his head and sniffing. Hiccup could feel him slightly growling, not liking his father's presence. _Believe me, Toothless, I don't like it right now, either_ , he thought. "I… have?

Stoick crossed his beefy arms, unamused. "Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?"

Oohhhhh snap. He was busted. Busted, and his father knew about everything, as he always seemed to. In a last, vain attempt to protect Toothless, he stammered, "I… don't… know… what you're…"

"Nothing happens at this camp," his father continued, "without me hearing about it."

"O-Oh?" Hiccup struck an awkward pose in order to block Toothless from attention. He was definitely growling now, and the teenager had to hide the sound with a frequent cough that sounded awfully fake to his own ears. But his main concern was Stoick now. What did he know? Did he think Hiccup had just improved? Or had he found out about Hiccup's cheating? About his trips to the woods? ...about Toothless? These thoughts chilled Hiccup to the bone.

Stoick's face was unreadable. "So." There was a beat. "Let's talk about your sudden success."

Blood drained from Hiccup's face as his worst fears were confirmed. With that knowing voice, the cold expression… it was clear. _He knows._ "Oh gosh. Dad, I'm so sorry… I- I was going to tell you. I just didn't know how to-"

Suddenly, Stoick started to laugh. Big, booming laughter that startled his son a lot more than the shock that Stoick _knew_. This puzzled him. Why was he _laughing_ when he should be boiling mad? Hiccup stared, baffled. "You're not… upset?"

With a last merry chuckle, Stoick gave a look of surprise on his now red face. "What?! I was hoping for this!"

Hiccup blinked. "Uh… you were?"

"And believe me, it only gets better!" Stoick went on, seeming not to hear his son. "Just wait till you start hunting bigger game, like foxes- or even deer!"

Hiccup's elated expression that had grown with his father's praise sank, along with his body on the bed. He leaned into Toothless's side. Something was wrong here…

"-and mount your first moose head on a spear! What a feeling!" Stoick laughed and reached forward, patting Hiccup's stiff shoulder. Toothless snarled at the close contact, and his friend was glad that his father's laughter was so loud that it covered the sound. "You really had me going there, son. All those years of the worst athlete the town of Berk has ever seen! Gosh, it was rough. You know… I almost gave up on you!"

Hiccup cringed, though he already knew this. It was just worst to hear it said out loud.

"And all the while," Stoick boomed, "you were holding out on me!" He suddenly grabbed the chair at Hiccup's desk and dragged it closer to his son's bed, wearing an eager look. As he sat down in it, he sighed in content. His massive frame nearly filled the tiny space the Haddocks were in. "Ahhhh. With you doing so well at camp, we finally have something to talk about!"

There was a long, pregnant pause. Hiccup averted his eyes nervously, hyperaware of every movement of Toothless. He tried to come up with something to say, but just couldn't think of the words he wanted to speak now that he finally had his father's attention. He once opened his mouth, his mind screaming, _Say something!_ , and Stoick nodded in earnest, looking eager. But when Hiccup closed his jaw tight again, the camp leader adjusted, awkwardly clearing his throat. He blew out a breath and said, "Oh, I, uh… I brought you something."

He reached in his pocket, and when his hands came back out, they presented a dusty gold medal attached to a ribbon that Hiccup assumed could be used to tie around someone's neck… if they happened to win it.

"To keep you safe, in training," Stoick explained, looking a little uncertain if Hiccup would like the gift.

Hiccup accepted the medal in trembling hands, studying it in awe. There was a tiny print of a man running carved on the gold, though the award could've been won for anything. "Wow. Thanks." He found his words sincere. His father hadn't given him a gift that wasn't on his birthday in… a long, long time.

"Your mother would've wanted you to have it." He sounded wistful. "She won it herself at a different camp we both went to some time ago. I have another medal she won." He drew out a second medal from around his neck. It had been hidden under his shirt, and Hiccup wondered how long he'd worn it there. "Matching set. Keeps her close, y'know?"

Hiccup eyed the two awards, almost smiling. "Yeah."

"Wear it proudly. You deserve it. You've gone beyond my expectations, son." Stoick beamed with pride, and Hiccup almost grinned back… but he felt Toothless wiggle, and knew that his dog wouldn't be able to sit still for much longer.

He forced a yawn, stretching his arms to exaggerate the point. "I should really get to bed… big day tomorrow." Next afternoon, Gobber and Spitelout were going to choose a camper from the A-team to compete with the other three teams in a few short weeks. With Hiccup's newfound success, courtesy of Toothless, he actually had a chance at winning. And now with this new pressure from Stoick… well, he _had_ to win.

At Hiccup's words, Stoick stood up quickly, nearly bumping his head on the ceiling.

The father and son began talking over each other until it was a jumble of, "Yes! Good! Okay- good talk- see you tomorrow- we should do this again- I'm great- thanks for stopping- glad I stopped by- I hope you- uhh… liked the medal- Mom's medal."

His father coughed after a second of pause. "Well… uh… good night." Stoick left the room in a slow manner, leaving Hiccup feeling more burdened than ever.

Toothless wriggled his head from the blankets and gave an accusing stare at Hiccup.

"I know, I know!" Hiccup threw his hands up. "I've really got myself in a problem this time… wait till Dad finds out about you… oohhhh…" He rubbed his temples in a miserable way, then sighed. "Well, I'd better get you back to the cove before the others come back. Come on, let's go… useless canine… you've really gotten me in trouble now!"

* * *

 **I see we've reached 50 followers (HOORAH!), yet only two of ya reviewed last time… *pokes* You guys still there? Can't blame you if you left. I haven't exactly been faithful in my updating schedule… but I'll continuing writing this even if NO ONE reviews. Anyways, I'm SO SORRY for that LOONNNGGG wait, and the rushed chapter. I'll try not to let it happen again, though I still will say that the updating schedule will be out of whack. Thanks for viewing, reviewing, faving, or following this story. It means a lot, and I should say it more often… I promise the action will start very soon… quite soon indeed, as well as some Hiccstrid and Hiccup!whump… *cackles* Hang in there!**


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